


Delivered Unto Evil

by JennCvice



Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV)
Genre: Alternate Ending, Angst, Canon Rewrite, Consensual Sex, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Grief/Mourning, Sexual Content
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-20
Updated: 2021-01-05
Packaged: 2021-02-28 02:26:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 15
Words: 52,915
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22926382
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JennCvice/pseuds/JennCvice
Summary: Buffy and friends are confronted with their Biggest Bad, yet. And Angelus has returned to Sunnydale, eager to reunite with his favorite plaything. But, due to outside interference, he'll have to make some adjustments, before getting what he wants. Buffy/Angelus, non-canon. Set in Season Five, as a sequel to my work, "No Deliverance."
Relationships: Angelus & Buffy Summers, Angelus (BtVS)/Buffy Summers, Tara Maclay/Willow Rosenberg, Xander Harris/Anya Jenkins
Comments: 16
Kudos: 37





	1. Buff vs Drac

**Hello, readers!**

**I swore I would take a break from the Buffyverse, and I did… years. Definitely longer than I'd originally anticipated. But almost as soon as "No Deliverance" concluded, I began to outline this story. So this has been in the works for a loooooong time.**

**Buffy and her friends were all 18 in my last story, not 17; this means that my story will have to take place during their sophomore year of college, instead of freshman year. It also means that I'll be playing around with the original timeline. Please remember that this is not cannon. It's fan fiction.**

**As always, your reviews are greatly appreciated. So, if you can find the time, please leave one!**

**And now, the sequel to "No Deliverance" begins…**

**Jenn**

* * *

The Hellmouth never…just…rested. Buffy knew this. Even when it lay seemingly dormant, something evil was biding its time beneath the surface of Sunnydale.

In the past two years, the peaceful suburb had seen a multitude of new evils come into play. Scabby demons had temporarily given Buffy the power of telepathy, which had enabled her to save her classmates from a homicidal lunch lady. A classmate in her year, Tucker, had released hell hounds at senior prom. A new slayer had burst onto the scene, with severe issues; nipping at her heels, a dangerous vampire named Trick had made it his personal agenda to kill every slayer within city limits. After disposing of him, Faith the Vampire Slayer had chosen to side with the mayor of Sunnydale. Their partnership led to "Ascension Day," known to every other person as "Graduation Day." Buffy, along with the rest of the Class of 1999, opened fire on the hellish snake that the mayor had transformed into, and fought off the horde of vampires that he had rallied.

Even the mundane parts of her life were still addled with the supernatural. Her mother was now privy to her slaying side. And with that knowledge came an over-active presence into a side of her life that she had worked so hard to keep private. On one instance, her mother had followed her on her nightly patrol, only to find the bodies of two slaughtered children…which actually ended up being the ploy of a demon that was obsessed with the human fairytale of "Hansel and Gretel." Willow and other witches became the target of the incensed mob of parents.

And speaking of Willow, the red-head was now a full-blown witch. And she had new love in her life. Oz had abandoned her in the beginning of their freshmen year of college, and Tara, a fellow Wicca, had taken the werewolf's place in her heart.

Xander and Cordelia split up, to no one's great surprise. Neither of them were completely over the other, though. A vengeance demon named Anyanka took advantage of Cordelia's fragile state and granted her wish: that Buffy would never have come to Sunnydale. Anyanka was defeated and, in the process, was made mortal. Of course, the next logical thing was for the former demon to start dating Xander; he was, after all, a magnet for...supernatural women. Cordelia, meanwhile, had taken off to Los Angeles after graduation.

Buffy was tested by the Watcher's counsel. The smug bastards assumed they could control all the variables. Their hubris resulted in Buffy's mother being put in danger, three men being killed, Giles being fired from his Watcher position, and Buffy permanently distrusting their elitist organization.

Her love life had been…stinted by Angelus' sudden disappearance, but she had managed. It had taken a while for her to come around to her classmate's, Scott's, advances. They were equally awkward around each other. When one of his friends had gone Jekyll and Hyde, Buffy had the unfortunate duty of having to kill the abusive miscreant…and then comfort her boyfriend.

Just when things seemed to be going smoothly, Scott had broken up with her, citing an extremely lame excuse. He moved on to greener pastures. Well, more like the other side of the fence. Before coming out, he actually had the gall to tell people that Buffy was the one who batted for the same team. Their physical relationship, or lack thereof, was explained away. Truthfully, Buffy hadn't been ready to sleep with someone else, at that point.

Parker had been her first college love, and he had caught her by surprise. She had slowly warmed up to his charm, as they had flirted their way through the semester. He patiently waited for her to accept his sexual advances, and after they finally made love…he stopped calling.

The next time she saw him on campus, he had smiled briefly at her. Then he kept walking through the quad, with a pretty strawberry blonde under his arm.

Buffy couldn't believe she had been so foolish. She found out later that, while he had been "patiently waiting" for Buffy, he'd actually been sowing plenty of wild oats within UC Sunnydale's female population.

She thought about vengeance, but she really had no one to blame but herself. Parker had been killed in a car accident less than a month after she had seen him in the quad. The strange thing was, his neck was broken in such a way that the investigators suspected foul play. However, no further evidence was found to support that the crash was a cover-up and the case closed.

Perhaps the only good thing to come out of all the trials and tribulations was Riley Finn. She met him as a freshman in her Psychology 101 course with Professor Walsh. He was the professor's teaching assistant. As with everything else in her life, nothing was that simple.

In reality, the professor was a government agent heading up a secretive organization known simply as "The Initiative." And Buffy's new friend was none other than Professor Walsh's number one operative. Multiple monsters later, the Slayer was now united in their cause to capture and neutralize all "hostile sub-terrestrials" in Sunnydale. Buffy didn't know why the "capture" part was necessary but, with extremely low clearance, she wasn't exactly in the loop. Riley, it seemed, was also in the dark about that part of his job.

Over the course of her freshman year, she and the handsome military man became acquaintances, then friends, then allies, and now…something more. Riley was safe, and he was the good guy. All of her friends insisted that he was the type of guy that she needed. She used the term "boyfriend" liberally around her friends and mother.

The end of her freshman year, both she and Riley were devastated to find out that Professor Walsh and the entirety of the Initiative were not exactly on moral high ground. An experimental creature, pieced together with different human, biomechanical, and demonic parts built by Walsh and her team, had killed his makers and set out to make more superhuman soldiers like himself. He saw it as giving purpose to his unnatural existence. Buffy and her core Scooby squad had invoked a very controversial spell to give her the power she needed to stop the creature named "Adam."

She and her friends had fled the facility as chaos erupted. A broad collection of demons appeared out of a previously sectioned-off part of the underground building, meeting soldiers and scientists and leaving a bloodbath in their wake. Unbeknownst to Buffy or her friends, the high-ranking generals that oversaw the Initiative program declared it a failure and took every measure to make sure that every scrap of evidence was buried.

At the beginning of her sophomore year, Riley helped her move into a private dorm room. She had won the lottery, for once. Willow and Tara had strategically requested to room together. Xander and Anya were still seeing each other, amazingly enough, and they had just moved into an apartment together, thanks to a promotion at his job. Giles had taken ownership of the sole magic shop in Sunnydale, The Magic Box, after the previous owner had met an untimely and rather grisly death. Miss Calendar, Jenny, co-owned the shop with him, and, although they weren't currently cohabitating, they were looking into buying a house together.

Her mother immersed herself in her work at the art gallery, as she rarely saw Buffy due to her school and slaying duties. Joyce coped as well as a parent can, watching their adult child live their life from afar.

And Dawn… as usual, her little sister was an invasive brat that frequently got on Buffy's nerves. Xander didn't seem to mind the crush Dawn obviously had on him, and Anya seemed unfazed by the infatuation, as long as her girlfriend status remained unchallenged. Besides, Anya had found a new infatuation of her own: money.

Willow and Tara sympathized with Buffy's annoyance at her baby sister at times, but they always sought to make sure that Dawn felt included and loved. Giles mostly focused on his duties as an unofficial, unrecognized Watcher, but he couldn't stay completely neutral, especially when Dawn would tag along to her sister's training sessions. Riley felt that Dawn was important to Buffy, being family, and he did his best to be as open and approachable to his girlfriend's kid sister as he was toward Joyce. Dawn did not show him the same courtesy, endlessly niggling at the romantic couple at the most awkward of moments.

Riley, no longer under the protection of Walsh and the Initiative, could no longer serve as a teaching assistant and pretend to be a graduate student at UC Sunnydale. And with his housing destroyed in an "unfortunate electrical fire," he was forced to stay with Buffy, unofficially, until he could find a place of his own. The few survivors from his team took assignments in a demon-hunting black operations unit, including Graham. Had Riley not had Buffy, he would have left Sunnydale, too.

And, as much as she repressed it, Buffy felt the strain of having her boyfriend around her every minute that she wasn't in class. He was just as sweet and considerate as ever. A true gentleman. He adored her, and she loved…being adored.

On this particular night, she awoke in the darkness and looked over at her beau. He was fast asleep, still naked from their love-making. She, however, was restless. Stealthily, she slid out from under the covers, dressed herself, and snuck out of her room.

 _A little patrolling, a good kill, and back to bed,_ she thought happily. She was just antsy. A fight-to-the-death would help release the pent-up energy in her bones.

She walked around one of Sunnydale's many cemeteries and willed a thing of evil to confront her.

"Here, vampy, vampy, vampy!" she called out mockingly. She looked around, but she saw no bodies, dead or alive. She sighed and kept trudging past the plots.

There had been a strangely fierce storm earlier. Lightning and thunder, rainfall, and high winds were not often seen in California in September. The rain-soaked earth squished under her feet, and the Slayer frowned when she realized a fight could get her covered in mud.

_I'll just have to win quickly and avoid falling down. Shouldn't be a problem._

"Oh, no! I am lost and alone! And my poor heart is beating so fast…I hope I'll make it home safe!"

Nothing.

_Wow, am I losing my touch? Did I lay on the victim-speak too much?_

She glanced out into the night one last time. She had been out for over an hour, she was sure of it.

As she turned to leave, she almost ran right into a man.

No, not a man.

He had a pale, solemn face, sharply angled and handsome. His shoulder-length hair was black as night, as was the majority of his very formal wardrobe, save for the crimson dress shirt under his vest. He looked through Buffy's eyes as if he saw into her soul.

Buffy braced herself.

"It took you long enough. I was just about to turn in, but I was looking for a fight!"

His smile was unnerving, and it made hers falter.

"We are not going to fight," he stated in a very thick Eastern European accent.

"What did you have in mind, then? Draining me after a game of checkers?" Buffy's taunt didn't seem to affect the vampire in front of her.

"You are more beautiful than what I expected, Buffy Summers." His eyes raked down her body, taking in her petite frame.

"You know who I am?" Buffy wasn't used to being known by name, only by her colorful moniker of "The Slayer."

"Naturally. Your fame as a Slayer has reached the farthest corners of the earth. That's why I came here. To meet you."

"And you are?"

His expression changed, then. He looked surprised.

"My apologies, I assumed my reputation preceded me." He looked stoic, proud. "I am Dracula."

That was the last thing she expected to hear. She couldn't control her jaw dropping and her eyebrows shooting up in amazement.

"Get out!"

The vampire smiled seductively.

"Are you serious? Because there's a lot of vampires out there claiming that _they_ are the 'Dark Prince,' or Lestat, or whatever."

"I think you already know it to be true."

He held her gaze and moved steadily toward her. Buffy found herself torn between wanting to fight him and wanting to be bitten by him. Her body was oddly rooted to its spot. He gently cupped her cheek and tenderly turned her head to the side. Her eyes widened, but she allowed him to lean into her neck.

"You have been tasted before." It was a statement, not a question. The bite mark from the Master had never fully healed. It was the only injury she had ever received that left a scar. Physical injury, anyway.

"Yes," she whispered.

He smelled her neck, but then pulled away from her. His eyes darted to an area behind her.

"I must go. But we will meet again, Miss Summers." He took a few more steps back, then disappeared in a cloud of black smoke.

Buffy shook herself out of the trance and concentrated on breathing evenly. She ran back to her room, having had enough excitement for one night.

_Giles needs to hear about this. Dracula?! Maybe Miss Calendar will know more about him…_

When she had vanished from view, the smoke condensed and Dracula once again appeared, watching in the direction she had run off.

"Angelus," the ancient vampire called out. "How nice to see you, again."

Another dark figure emerged from behind an especially large tree trunk. He walked toward the famous villain, stopping when they were side by side.

"Not her, Drac."

Dracula scowled. "You know I despise casual names."

"Not _her_ ," the younger vampire insisted. "She is _mine_. The bite mark proves it."

"I heard the story of her killing your master, Angelus," Dracula pointed out, shaking his head. "It is not _your_ bite. You have no more claim to her than I do. If she allows herself to be bitten by me, then she will have made her choice."

Angelus growled low, letting the sound reverberate in his chest.

"She gave me her innocence, her virgin blood."

Dracula turned to look at him, then, surprise on his handsome features. He began to walk away from their meeting.

"Will you be leaving Sunnydale, then?" Angelus called out.

"No, not yet. I did not travel so far to enjoy the sun. I will leave after I have had my fill of amusement."

With that, the Count transformed into a bat and flew off into the night sky.

Angelus watched his ascent through narrowed eyes, knowing that he could no longer stay in the shadows.

 _Time to get reacquainted with my favorite Slayer,_ he thought. _See ya soon, Buff._


	2. A Real Pain

"Dracula? THE Dracula?!" Xander's hand hovered in the air, holding a potato chip that had stopped _en route_ to his mouth. "Gary Oldman or Gerard Butler?"

Buffy scrunched her nose in distaste at the comparisons.

"More like Marc Anthony in the 'I Need to Know' video. But with less smiling and longer hair."

Willow and Tara perked up, with Willow adding an excited squeal.

Giles was already elbow-deep in books, looking up anything pertinent to the famous vampire. He did not contribute to their conversation.

Buffy had informed everyone to meet at The Magic Box to discuss the situation. Finding out who they were up against made everyone flustered. Xander was impressed that Buffy was finally going to slay a vampire that he (and everyone) had heard of. Anya was fanning herself in the corner of the store, trying to keep her cool as her face flushed. Willow and Tara sat at a table, trying to remember the last time they had listened to anything by Marc Anthony. Buffy leaned against the countertop that housed a glass display case with her arms folded.

Miss Calendar was on her way from a school district meeting. Dawn was with Riley at the Summers' residence, at Buffy's request. And Joyce was at the museum, working late.

"Giles? Anything?" Buffy looked toward her Watcher.

"Eh, not anything helpful, no." His eyes strained and he pinched the bridge of his nose. "To be honest, it is rather difficult to decipher fact from fiction. There are as many fans as there are historians that write about his exploits. Everything credible hints that he has been dormant for quite some time. A couple of centuries, perhaps."

"What about the movies about him? How he turns into a bat and stuff," said Xander, through a mouthful of food.

"As I said," Giles reiterated, "there are wild tales about his abilities, and, from what we already know about vampires in general, it is highly unlikely-"

"Oh!" Buffy exclaimed. "He did that! He did a vanishing thing!" She made an explosion gesture with her hands. "Poof! Black smoke and he was gone!"

"Oh yeah, he can do a lot more than your average, run-of-the-mill vamp," Anya spoke up. Her eyes looked dreamily around the room.

Everyone stopped what they were doing to look at her.

"And you know this how?" Xander piped in. He put the bag of chips down and waited on his girlfriend's answer.

"We, um…" Anya started, completely flustered. "We, like, dated for a little while." She blushed at her admission and at the memory of the man himself. Locking eyes with Xander, she shook her head. "It's no big deal. It was just a fling. I wasn't about to move in with an undead man who lived with his multiple wives!"

"The multiple brides are a thing, too?" Buffy's jaw dropped.

"Yep," the former demon confirmed. "Not really as impressive as his entrances and exits, that's for sure." She gave snort of laughter at the end of her own sentence. Out of boredom, she started to wander the magic store, looking to see what inventory was new.

While Anya rifled through the store, picking up and putting back various objects, Jenny Calendar arrived.

"Okay, so what's going on?"

"Buffy met a vampire who went by the name of Dracula, last night, while she was out on patrol," Giles explained succinctly.

"Dracula?" Jenny's face paled.

"You okay?" Buffy took a step toward her in concern. "Wait," she changed tone, realizing something. "You know more about him, don't you? What do you know?"

Jenny swallowed and stared at the ground. "Dracula killed many of my people, the Romani."

Willow interjected. "Oh! I remember, isn't he from Romania? That totally makes sense-"

"No, Willow," Miss Calendar interrupted. "Romani are not always Romanians. My people were from Moldova, and we traveled through Romania often." She took a deep breath. "The curse that we used on Angelus? To restore his soul? We developed it to use against Dracula."

The whole of the room looked appropriately shocked, and even Anya had stopped exploring to listen in on the conversation ripe with new information.

"Before we had a chance to curse Dracula, he disappeared from the area. We assumed he had headed for new hunting grounds. When the centuries passed without a sighting, we were hopeful that he had met a final death. Then, when Angelus murdered one of our daughters, we were ready to enact the fully-developed spell."

Buffy's face was aghast. "Oh, wow. That is a _lot_." She moved behind the register to rest her forearms on the glass countertops.

The bell at the door rang out, and an unfamiliar woman stepped into the shop. Seven blank faces stared in her direction, making her uncertain.

"Oh, um… are you open? I just came in for some black sage?"

Giles pressed through the awkwardness with a forced smile.

"We are, yes, but I'm afraid I'm currently sold out." The woman frowned. "But I believe a shipment should arrive on Monday. Would you mind checking back in, then?"

The patron smiled at the kind store owner. "Oh, sure! I can wait. I'll call to make sure, before I make the trip down. Thanks, anyway!"

"Thank you for your…understanding. Have a pleasant night."

The door chimed, again, at her exit, while the group remained tactfully silent.

"All right," Buffy began, eager to move forward. "What's the plan, then? I go out tonight and you guys text me with anything that can help me defeat Mr. Creepshow?"

"Yes, I suppose so." Giles readjusted his glasses and looked at the petite blonde with fatherly worry. "But take Riley with you, please."

"What?" she said in a deadpan voice. "Why? He would be safer _indoors_."

"This _Dracula_ seemed to be toying with you." Giles narrowed his eyes at her defiance, undeterred from his position. "It has already been mentioned that he does, indeed, have 'wives' and has abilities that have, thus far, been unknown to us. If he is also able to put you in a thrall, you need someone to pull you away."

"Lothos, the Master, Dracula… I hate being under thralls," she muttered under her breath.

"What was that?"

"Nothing," she sighed.

"Is Riley aware of what you are up against?"

"Yes, I told him everything. I'll fill him in on our meeting when I go back home, which, speaking of…" she looked around the room and eyes darted to everything but her own. _It's like they know what's coming_ , she thought, drily. "Can someone _please_ watch Dawn tonight? If Riley's coming with me, and my mom's working late, I need someone at my house." No one responded. "Anyone? Come on!" She huffed in impatience.

"Sorry, Buffy, I have a mid-term to study for, and Tara is my study-buddy," Willow smiled over at her girlfriend. Tara, for her part, looked mildly relieved.

Buffy looked to her Watcher. "I, erm, need to do inventory tonight. Jenny, will you help me downstairs? I know I need to order more black sage…" his voice trailed off as he and the beautiful brunette made their way into the basement.

Buffy rolled her eyes and looked at Xander expectantly. "Xander, it has to be you. _Please_?"

Anya added her voice to the fray. "Xander, say no! We were going to leave here and go have sex. We can't babysit the Slayer's sister!"

Watching his friends glare daggers at his girlfriend, Xander saw the opportunity to mend fences.

"Yeah, of course," he assured Buffy. "A night with the Dawnster!" He looked toward Anya who, if she still had her vengeance amulet, would have made short work of her lover.

"Ayn, come on, it'll be fun," he whispered as he hugged her waist with one of her arms. She looked dubious, but her fury seemed to ebb.

Willow and Tara returned to their dorm, Xander drove Buffy and Anya to the Summers' residence, and Giles remained at the shop with Jenny.

Dawn was delighted to find out that Xander would be staying with her. She was equally repulsed to see Anya follow him into her house. Riley seemed especially antsy to leave and go with Buffy. Apparently, Dawn had been asking some uncomfortably probing questions about their relationship, and he fled without saying goodbye to her.

Buffy was at a loss for where to start. Dracula had found her, last time, and she suspected that, if he was looking for her, it didn't matter which cemetery she patrolled…he would appear.

Meanwhile, Anya had been overcompensating for her reluctance to help with Dawn. The trio had played every board game in the house. Both Dawn and Xander had discovered an interesting trait of the pretty ex-demon: she was both a terrible loser and an insufferable winner.

A knock at the front door halted their festivities, while Xander went to see who it was.

"Well, if it isn't my least favorite vampire."

Anya and Dawn looked over to where Xander was, but they couldn't see who stood past the threshold of the house.

"No need to get defensive, already, Harris."

"True. Not as long as you're stuck on that side of the door, _Angelus_." Xander gripped the door so hard that his knuckles were white. He was a good three feet back from the opening. "You're probably looking for Buffy. Well, no luck there, sport. She's out hunting a bigger bad than _you_."

Dawn approached the door, staying behind Xander. She didn't speak, and the vampire only gave her a cursory look.

"Big words from a little boy," Angelus taunted back. "Not exactly threatening. More like…pathetic."

"There's three of us, and one of you!" Dawn blurted out, stepping out from behind Xander's protective stance. "If you come in here, you'll be dust even before Buffy gets back!"

"Dawn!" Anya shouted at the overconfident teen. She ran up to stand alongside of the two, as all three backed slowly away from the door.

Angelus smiled triumphantly, starting to walk through the threshold, but his body hit an invisible barrier. He looked at the frame in confusion, while the three humans breathed sighs of relief. He morphed into his vampire visage and hissed.

"This isn't over. Tell Buffy I'm back, and that I'll see her soon!"

He walked away angrily, the tail of his long black coat flapping behind him.

"Dawn," Xander spoke, closing the door and facing the young girl. "That could've been bad. Really, _really_ bad. What were you thinking?"

" _You_ were talking to him, and I just wanted to stick up for you…"

"You're lucky you didn't accidentally invite him in." He gave her a hug, seeing her distressed and remorseful.

Standing off to the side, Anya stared dubiously at the closed door, while Xander and Dawn made their way back to the living room. Joyce arrived nearly an hour later, but no one apprised her of the vampire's visit. The couple left the house, running into Buffy and Riley right outside the quaint home.

"Hiya, Buffy! How was your night? Because we had a doozy," Xander greeting the duo. Anya forced a smile, but she mostly looked impatient to go.

"No sign of He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Slain," the Slayer shrugged. "Riley needs some sleep, so we came back early."

Next to her, the strapping man looked clammy and tired. He frowned at his girlfriend's unflattering comment.

"You okay, there, soldier?" Xander asked. "You look like you might be coming down with something."

"I'm fine!" Riley shot back, the exhaustion masked by his irritation. "I just…need to get a good night's sleep, and I'll be all good."

"Are you going back out tonight?" Xander was no longer paying attention to Riley, focusing in on his friend. Buffy darted a look over to her boyfriend, who sent her daggers back.

"I'm not sure-"

"Because," he interrupted, "if you are, you should know that Dracula's not the only vampire who's in town."

Buffy paused, confused.

"Angelus came by, earlier tonight."

The Slayer took a step back on the pavement, then she looked around Xander and Anya to look at the front of her home. Her eyes widened, but every other muscle seemed to harden in response to the unexpected news.

"Angelus?" Riley asked, breaking the silence. "Who's-"

"Just…" Buffy spoke up, shaking her head. "Don't worry about him, I'll take care of it." She looked pointedly at her ailing boyfriend. "We need to get you in bed."

Riley prepared to argue, either against calling it a night or to demand more information, but Buffy sent him a silencing look. He sighed and started to trudge toward his car.

"Are you okay to drive?" she asked, still protective.

He held up a hand and dismissed her question with a wave, as he unlocked his vehicle and maneuvered inside. Buffy and her friends watched him slowly drive back to the dorms, resigned to going to bed alone.

"Well, that was awkward." Anya was pulling on Xander's hand and leading them toward the car that they had arrived in. "We played board games and I won all of the money ones, Dawn and Xander had a contest for who could fit the most marshmallows in their cheeks, and Dawn almost invited Angelus in. Thought you'd like to know all that went on tonight. We're going home, now, so…bye!"

Xander shrugged and allowed his perky girlfriend to lead him away, sending an apologetic smile toward his platonic friend. Buffy stared back, overwhelmed, until she reflected over what was said.

"She WHAT?" Buffy ran the rest of the way up and inside her house. She took a breath and only faintly registered Xander's car starting up and driving away. Part of her wanted to confront her foolish sister, but she didn't want to worry their mother. She clenched her hands into solid fists and climbed the stairs to her sister's room. Joyce was nowhere to be seen, so Buffy assumed she was probably in the master bedroom.

Buffy knocked on Dawn's bedroom door, but received no acknowledgement. She opened the door without permission and saw the younger girl sprawled out on her bed, writing in a journal, and wearing headphones. The frustrated Slayer grabbed the teenager by the ankle to her alert her of her presence. Dawn whipped around and pulled the headphones off her ears.

"Hey! Get out of my-"

"How could you be so stupid?"

"Ex- _cuse_ me? Get out, or I'll tell Mom-"

"You almost invited Angelus in?" Buffy gave her sister a knowing look. Dawn blushed at that damning question, trying to gather her thoughts before landing in even more trouble. "What did you say? What did _he_ say?"

"He was being mean to Xander, so I just told him that he would be dust if he came in…"

Buffy held a hand to her forehead, closing her eyes as if in pain. Dawn continued.

"He tried to come in," her little sister explained, finally understanding the gravity of her carelessness. Buffy's eyes shot open and she gave Dawn a penetrating look. "But he couldn't. So, it's okay, right? We're still safe?"

The hope and naivety in her sister's eyes collapsed her resolve, and Buffy leaned over Dawn to give her a hug.

"I was going to go back to campus, but I'll stay here tonight. Just in case." Dawn hugged her big sister back, happy that she was no longer being reprimanded.

Dawn fell asleep soon after, with Joyce checking in on both of her daughters. She was pleasantly surprised to find Buffy in her old room, but she wished her a good night and promised to make the poor college student a continental breakfast in the morning.

Buffy stayed dressed, still wearing the comfy, powder-blue track suit that she had donned for her hunt. She sat on her bed, freshly made, and stared at the window she had left cracked open.

After Dawn was deeply sleeping, after Joyce was also in bed…Buffy heard the first stirrings of movement outside. She stole a quick glance to the clock on her nightstand. It was very, very late. She wished to be snug under the covers, but her own sleep would have to wait.

Angelus appeared at the window, smiling smugly at her. He took hold of the bottom of the window and pushed it up as far as it would go. Buffy reached under her bed for the stake she had hidden there, holding it up for the dark vampire to see that she was not defenseless. He smoothly entered the room, but he did not approach her.

"Hello, lover," he purred.

"Not anymore," she fired back, "you're just an ex."

"Ouch, Buff!" Angelus held a hand over his unbeating heart and acted wounded by her words.

"I knew it," she shook her head, annoyed by the fact that her gut instinct had been correct. "I knew it. The invitation _did_ work, you just pretended that it didn't."

He smiled in response. "I didn't care about killing them. A waste of energy. But that little girl really came through-"

"Stay away from my sister!" she hissed.

Angelus cocked his head, as if he had missed a vital piece of information.

"Your sister?" he asked. "What sister?"

"Leave her out of this! If you go after her, or anyone else, I swear, I'll stake you this time. I won't hesitate to dust you if you hurt ANYONE I care about," Buffy promised, with fire in her eyes.

The vampire did not seem to register the threat, being more concerned with what the Slayer had said before it.

"What sister?" he adamantly repeated. "Slayer…you don't _have_ a sister. You've _never_ had a sister."


	3. Out of Their Minds

**Hello, readers!**

**Not sure how obvious it is, but, if you have noticed the chapter titles, they are rewordings of episode titles for Season Five. I'm going to continue this trend (because: easy), but the events that occur in the episodes of the show may or may not factor into my story. I omitted everything from "The Replacement" because it would have been unnecessary filler. And this chapter has very little in common with "Out of My Mind."**

**I hope you are enjoying the differing plotline, thus far! Please leave a comment, if you wouldn't mind! I'll continue writing, regardless, because I need to pull this story out of my brain, but I would love to know if you are satisfied with what I'm posting.**

**Thank you, and happy reading!**

**Jenn**

* * *

Buffy furrowed her brows at the malevolent vampire. He looked genuinely confused, and it scared her. Truly scared her.

"I _do_ have a sister," she insisted. "Her name is…wait, what am I telling you this for? If you don't remember her, then you don't need to know a thing about her! Except for this: stay away from her, the rest of my family, and my friends. That's your _only_ warning, Angelus."

He abandoned the debate, but filed it away in his mind, unsure of what the sudden appearance of a new family member meant. A part of him wasn't sure, himself, that the Slayer's sister hadn't been with their father this entire time in Los Angeles. If there was something else in play, he wanted to make sure that he was on the better-informed end.

"I heard you met Dracula, the other night," he smirked.

"From who?"

"Word travels fast in the realm of evil," he shrugged, mixing playfulness into his tone. "He has too big of a name to go unnoticed. Not that he minds," Angelus scowled. "The showoff…"

"So, what?" Buffy huffed, placing the stake in her lap.

"So," he continued. "Don't go looking for him. I let him know you're not on the menu, but if you go after him-"

"You _WHAT_?" Buffy clamped her mouth shut and glanced toward the door. Slayer and vampire both paused to see if anyone had heard the exclamation. When no additional noises could be heard, she finished her question. "What does that mean? You 'let him know'?"

"I think I've established, in _every_ way, shape, and form, that you are _mine_ , Slayer. And he'll respect that claim. But you need to back off and let him leave on his own. He will, trust me," Angelus nodded. He took a step back and sat on the sill. "This little town is too modern for his tastes, not to mention all of the demonic activity. He's not one for competition," he added, wagging his eyebrows suggestively. "But, if you hunt him, he'll stay even longer, to…play with you."

"Last I checked, I'm not called the 'Vampire-Excluding-Dracula-Slayer,'" she said, dryly.

Angelus smirked at her feistiness. He shrugged and moved to exit the way he had entered.

"Just trying to give you some sage advice, there, Buff," he answered back. "You can put your wards back up. I just wanted to say 'hi'…for now." He left the room as deftly as a large cat, moving gracefully through the window and away into the night.

Buffy watched his retreating figure, confused as to what he was truly up to. She knew he liked to play with his food, but this was ridiculous. He was barely trading barbs.

She trudged back to bed, satisfied that he was on his way to whatever hideout would shield him from the approaching daylight, and collapsed into a fitful sleep.

Later in the morning, she awoke to lovely smells and sounds coming from the kitchen. Passing by Dawn's room, she saw that it was surprisingly empty, which was odd for a Saturday. She usually never made an appearance before noon. Buffy took each step slowly, yawning on her descent, and inwardly cursing Angelus for keeping her up so late.

Dawn sat at the kitchen table, pouring Sugar Bombs into four different bowls on the table. Joyce was standing nearby, perplexed by her daughter's odd behavior.

"Are you going to eat all that?" she asked.

"Oh," Dawn started, realizing that she was being watched by both her mother and sister. "No, I just want the toy. It's always at the bottom!" She used her hand to excavate through the remaining cereal in the box and then held the small plastic toy up triumphantly. "See? Good morning!" she called out to Buffy.

"Morning, weirdo," Buffy replied cheerfully. Dawn stuck her tongue out at her sister.

"Good morning, sweetheart," their mother chimed in. "What would you like to eat? I have Eggos, toast, eggs…"

"I want French toast!" Dawn exclaimed, pouring each bowl of cereal back into the opened box.

"You're going to eat one of those bowls of cereal, first, young lady," Joyce admonished her youngest daughter. Dawn frowned, but obediently went to the fridge to get the milk. "Buffy, what would you like?"

The Slayer shrugged. "Um, a couple of eggs?"

Her mother nodded and set to work, preparing her daughter's eggs exactly the way she liked them. A dirty plate sat next to the sink, telling Buffy that her mother had already eaten. Early riser that she was, this was no big surprise.

Buffy still felt tense from the happenings of the previous night, so she casually stretched as she waited for her eggs to be ready. Dawn was eating the cereal without enthusiasm.

"Ugh," she called out with a mouthful of Sugar Bombs. "I used to love this cereal, but now it's too sweet."

Joyce turned, holding the plate of eggs, and stared at her younger daughter.

"Wh-What is that…Who are you?" she stuttered out. She slumped to the floor, letting the plate crash below her.

"Mom!" Buffy ran to her mother's side. Dawn stood slowly and watched in horror.

Joyce's eyes were closed and her body was limp. Buffy lightly shook her mother in desperation. "Mom? Mom! Dawn!" she looked to her sister. "Call 9-1-1!"

Dawn nodded automatically and ran to the phone. She paused, as if unsure of what to do, but shakily punched each of the three numbers into the landline's keypad. By the time Dawn had explained the situation to the operator, their mother's eyes fluttered open and she placed a hand to her head in pain.

"What happened?" she softly inquired. Buffy was still cradling her mother's upper body on her lap.

The trio was instructed by the dispatcher to take Joyce straight to the emergency room, which they did, after a hasty call to update Giles. He promised to meet them there, but Buffy insisted that his presence was not needed. At the hospital, the two girls were left in the waiting room, with Buffy choosing to pace the floor and Dawn sitting and staring at her hands. Riley arrived and ran straight to Buffy to envelope her in a hug. She allowed the contact, but she did not embrace him back.

"Are you okay?" He pulled away, sensing how stiff she was against him. She was looking back at him, but her gaze seemed to pierce through him like a predator seeing past foliage to its prey.

"I'm fine," she spoke, flatly and without conviction. "They're running some tests, right now. She fainted in the kitchen."

"I know," he looked over at Dawn. She still stared at her hands. "Giles filled me in." Riley hesitated, wondering how to bring up a new subject, but he pressed on. "You didn't come back, last night. I called Giles to see if he knew where you were. I wish you would have let me know you were staying at your mom's. I was worried."

Buffy glared at her boyfriend, no longer looking past him. "I'm sorry that _you_ felt like you had to _worry_ about me."

"Buffy," he ran a hand through his hair, "that's not what I meant, I…I just like knowing-"

"Miss Summers?" A voice called out from across the room. A trim, balding doctor in his white coat and scrubs waited for Buffy to meet with him. She walked over briskly.

Riley sighed and sat next to Dawn.

"I'm sorry about your mom, kiddo. That must've been scary."

"Yeah," she muttered. She looked up from her lap and gave Riley a knowing look. "You could have said the same thing to Buffy, and she wouldn't have gotten mad at you."

"I-" he started, but Dawn gave him another disapproving look. "Yeah, you're right."

"I'm glad Buffy has you, you know? You're always there for her. Angel made her crazy. It was all passion and insanity with those two. Weird. But she never gets that worked up over you."

"No, she doesn't…" he murmured under his breath. Dawn was staring at the vending machines in the room, unable to pay attention to him any longer.

They sat in silence, until a young man sat in a chair across from them. He was surprisingly young, showing off his perfect smile and Ken doll appearance.

"Hi, there! My name's Ben. I'm a medical intern here, and I'm working under the physician overseeing your mom." The man was an excellent mix of empathetic and positive, as he explained a simplified version of Joyce's condition and overall prognosis. He waited for Buffy to return, so that he could offer them some ideas for after care and troubling signs to watch for.

Dawn, visibly shaken, asked to see his stethoscope, and the kind intern agreed. Once it was in place, she held it to her own heart, which steadily beat with a slightly increased speed, due to the rush of adrenaline still in her system.

She held it up to Riley, next, whose heart was beating so loud and fast that it overpowered her senses. She removed it and looked up at him in confusion. He was talking to the young doctor, and Buffy had reappeared from her more serious conversation. _If he's talking, shouldn't I be able to hear him talk?_ Dawn wondered. She looked over Riley's face. He seemed a little clammy, perhaps a bit pale. But he definitely didn't look excited. She held the device to his chest, again, and heard the same unnaturally rapid beat.

Buffy was next, but, like Dawn's own heart, it was steady and only mildly elevated in pace. When she held it up to Ben's chest, it was a calmer rhythm than anyone else in their little group.

"What's wrong with your heart?" Dawn blurted out.

Three sets of eyes stared blankly at her.

"Well, sometimes these things can be kind of wonky," Ben winked. He turned his attention to Riley, embarrassed to follow up on the young teen's fears. "Do you mind?"

Riley shook his head, but he didn't look entirely comfortable with the intern leaning over to listen to his heart. Upon doing so, Ben's eyes widened, and he sat back up, removing the stethoscope to its normal resting place over his neck. He stood and calmly addressed the strapping soldier.

"I'd like to take you over and check your blood pressure, if that's okay. Can you come with me?"

Buffy looked more annoyed than worried, as she watched her boyfriend reluctantly follow the training physician to a bed in the emergency room.

"Did that guy tell you what they know about Mom?" Buffy asked her little sister.

"His name's Ben," she corrected. "He's nice. He basically said they don't know."

"Yeah," Buffy confirmed. "That's about it. I guess that means she's fine. They're releasing her to come home any time, now." She stared at the door that Ben and Riley had gone through, where Joyce was also on a bed. "If Mom comes out before Riley, I'll take you guys home and then come back."

But Riley was the first to emerge, followed by Ben who stayed near the door and shook his head disapprovingly.

"Are you okay?" Dawn looked at her sister's boyfriend with a critical eye.

"Yep! I'm good."

The girls allowed the conversation to drop there, and Joyce was wheeled into the waiting room shortly thereafter.

"Mom!" Dawn exclaimed, leaning over to give her mother a hug. "Are you okay?"

"Dawn! Be careful! Give Mom some breathing room!" Buffy chided her little sister.

Joyce shook her head at Buffy. "No, no, it's fine. I'm feeling much better. I think I am just a little sleep-deprived, is all."

"Well, then," Buffy answered for the group. "Let's get you home, then, to get some quality sleep!"

The latter half of their Saturday was, thankfully, much less eventful. Joyce rested, but then grew bored of her confinement, so she and Dawn played Battleship and Connect Four to lighten their moods. Buffy returned to campus, expecting to find Riley in her dorm room, but found another man, instead.

"Hello, Buffy," Graham greeted her. He was as handsome and soldier-esque as ever. A chiseled jaw, clear blue eyes, and his high-and-tight stylish hairstyle. Although he seemed calm, Buffy knew enough of his character to know that he could be suppressing anything below that stoic exterior. "It's nice to see you, again."

"Hey, Graham," she returned the greeting. "Where have you been?"

"New detail. It's a good fit. Not as action-packed as Sunnydale, but I get to travel. I'll gladly leave the Hellmouth to the Slayer," he grinned. The shared a brief moment of commiseration, and then his face hardened. "Where's Riley?"

Buffy crossed her arms and took a step further into her room, toward her former teammate. "Not here, obviously. I have no idea where he is." Her eyes darted past Graham to the window. The sun was close enough to the horizon that the sky was beginning to change colors.

"We need to find him," Graham directly said. "Quickly."

"What's wrong?" Her eyes were back on the super soldier.

He hesitated, and Buffy uncannily knew that it was due to him struggling to share confidential information with her.

"You weren't with the Initiative very long…" he cautiously began. "Walsh and her team of scientists were neutralizing as many hostiles as we could get our hands on. We didn't know, until after her death, that she was experimenting on us, too. Me, Forrest, Riley, all the others…we were taking pills and being given shots to keep us in peak physical condition. It comes with a cost."

Buffy felt light-headed, suddenly, and she dragged her feet toward her bed. Graham stepped away to give her ample room to pass, and he remained standing as she sat on the side of her bed. Once she was settled, he continued.

"We only figured out how reliant our bodies were on Walsh's cocktails, when we started going through our own withdrawals. Severe headaches, clammy skin, fevers, bouts of lethargy, extreme tachycardia-"

She looked up at him, confused, and opened her mouth to ask for the word's meaning, when Graham proactively explained himself.

"A rapid heartbeat." She nodded in understanding. "Has Riley experienced any of that? It happened to most of us about a month ago, but Walsh favored Riley and may have given him higher doses, making whatever drugs she was pumping us with stabilize his system for a longer period of time."

Buffy swallowed. "He had a fast heartbeat today, and he was definitely…feeling crappy last night."

Graham took a step toward her, but maintained a respectful distance. He crouched down to meet her eye level and looked at her imploringly.

"Buffy, he needs to come with me, immediately. The symptoms will only worsen," he told her seriously. "We were told that, whatever Walsh and her team gave us, it forever compromised our bodies. We are reliant upon it. And, to not continue the treatments, is a death sentence."

She gasped into her hands then, her own heart beating at a frenzied pace.

"They are working on a cure, but, until that day, we need to continue the regiment of pills." He stood and shook his head at what his life had turned into. "Enhanced strength, senses, durability, endurance…as long as we take our medicine."

"This is…a lot," Buffy finally spoke up. She looked down at the bed, where she and Riley usually slept every night. Guilt from their conversation at the hospital and not bothering to call her boyfriend to let him know what was going on was rising up in her chest.

"That's not all," he interrupted her. "All of us, except Riley, work for the government in some way. We have to, now. We have to do the work to get the pills. Quid pro quo."

Buffy's nose scrunched at hearing the familiar, but mostly unused Latin phrase. _What does that mean, again?_ Her eyes widened, when she figured it out.

"He has to…leave Sunnydale?" She whispered in understanding. Now Graham's arrival made perfect sense. Graham would be the only person from the Initiative that Riley might trust. _Except that he needs my help_ , she thought, sadly.

"I'm sorry," Graham apologized with sincerity. "I know it's not fair to ask this of you…but we're talking about life and death for a man we both care about. Besides you, what does he have here? What does he do? How difficult will it be for him to leave this place?"

Buffy heard all of the questions, but she had no answers.

"I'll find him," she promised. "I'll find him."

"Bring him to the airport tonight," he instructed. "That's where I'll be. We have a chopper ready to lift off as soon as he's on it." He smiled grimly at the fearsome Slayer. "I'm sorry about this. I wish our reunion could have been a happier one."

Buffy smiled gratefully back at the burly man. She stood and offered her hand. He shook it and widened his eyes upon feeling her supernaturally firm grip.

"It was an honor to work alongside you, however brief our time together," he finished.

She nodded and watched him leave her room. Her head was spinning. _Where's Riley?_

It took hours for the Slayer to find her boyfriend. She trekked most of Sunnydale, going to every significant spot in the city. Walsh's old lecture hall, where they had looked upon each other with masked interest. The bench where Graham had confronted Buffy and the clock tower where they had discovered the truth about each other, on the night that the Gentlemen attacked. Restaurants where they had eaten. Trails that they had walked. She even searched the bookstore, where they had first met. In the end, he was in the very last place Buffy expected to find him.

He was leaning against one of the walls of the caves that held the remains of the Initiative compound. Although he faced away from her, she could tell that he was breathing heavily and sweating. Around them, the rubble already seemed to hold an ancient, forgotten quality.

"Hey there, soldier," she called out softly. He didn't turn to face her, but he hung his head. "Are you okay?"

"No," he answered. "I'm pretty far from okay."

She approached from behind him and placed a hand on his shoulder. Buffy was unprepared for him to shake off the gesture of kindness, but it did make him finally turn around.

"You look pretty sick, should we go back to the hospital?"

Riley laughed mirthlessly. "I doubt they can help." He looked seriously into her worried eyes. "I know the symptoms of withdrawal. I'm no doctor, but I know what's going on."

"You do?"

He ran a hand through his thick hair and the sweat on his brow made tracks where his fingers traveled.

"Pills, shots, physicals, hormone tests…Walsh had me on some type of steroid regiment, along with God knows what else."

Buffy nodded, crossing her arms. He knew half of it, but he needed to hear the rest.

"Graham came by, looking for you."

He automatically stood a little straighter, but he didn't look happy to hear of his former teammate and friend. Buffy bit her lip. Her heart was clenched in her chest, and she felt her throat go dry. She didn't register how emotional she truly was until her eyes blurred with regretful tears.

"Riley…" her voice cracked, then, so she paused to regain enough composure to continue. He, meanwhile, had a mixture of compassion and suspicion in his expression. But he waited patiently for what would come next. "You need to go with him."

"Go where?"

"I-I don't know," she admitted. "You're right, Profes- um, Walsh dosed all of you with something…some type of enhancement drug?" A large lump had suddenly appeared in her throat, and she struggled to swallow it down. "You need to work for the government, again, if you want them to treat you."

"What does that mean?" Riley looked genuinely confused.

"What I think the Slayer is trying to say," a smooth, deep voice interjected, "is that you can either follow the other little commandos out of town…or stay and die."

The couple whipped in the direction of the words to see a tall figure emerging from one of the many shadows in the cave. He was smirking in amusement at their obvious anguish.

"Do I know you?" Riley questioned the stranger. "I feel like I've seen you before. Who are you?"

"Angelus," Buffy addressed the vampire. "Why are you here? How did you know where I was?"

"I followed your scent, lover," he purred directly at her, ignoring Riley's presence.

"Angelus?" Riley repeated. The dark vampire arrogantly stared him down, then, hearing his name used by a man that he had only ever seen from a distance. "You're Angelus? The vampire?"

He thought about morphing into his demonic form, but Angelus gave him a wide smile, showing off his longer-than-average canine teeth. Angelus did not prefer one visage over the other, but he knew keeping his human-looking appearance in place would do more to unsettle the current beau of his Slayer.

Riley looked to Buffy, standing next to him. "You _slay_ vampires. How do you know this one so well?"

Buffy darted her eyes back and forth from Riley to Angelus, unsure of what to say. The hesitation made Riley's mind wander until he arrived at the natural conclusion.

"Angelus…Angel? _This_ is Angel?" He didn't mean for it to come out accusingly, but he was too far gone, physically, emotionally, mentally, to curb his tone.

The vampire was still smirking, holding his hands in front of his body and waiting for the next shoe to drop. Buffy was blushing at having such an embarrassing truth revealed. She had never told Riley the entire story behind her romance with Angel, nor about his passionate and sick obsession with her as Angelus. The color soon drained from her cheeks, as she glared hatefully toward the demonic version of her first love.

"Vampire," Riley spat out disgustedly. His eyes widened at a new realization. "I know you! You're Hostile 19."

Angelus lost his superior smirk, then. It was Buffy's turn for confusion.

"Hostile 19? What are you talking about, Riley?"

"We were alerted to a possible hostile subterranean kill, an unnatural death of a UC Sunnydale student who had supposedly died in a car accident," he explained, never taking his eyes off the enemy. "After further investigation by our forces, it was determined that the student had severe blood loss and also a broken neck. Initiative personnel noted in the file that puncture marks in line with a vampire bite were present." He stopped, then, and gave Buffy a sympathetic look. "It was Parker."

Buffy's hands flew to her mouth, before looking over to Angelus in horror. He lifted his head haughtily, giving no indication of remorse.

"How could you?" she whispered, after removing her hands.

Angelus' growl rumbled low in his chest. "He had no business touching what was _mine_."

Buffy looked to her boyfriend, worried for his safety. She didn't want to have to stake Angelus, but she would do whatever it took to keep Riley safe. Surprisingly, Riley didn't look the least bit concerned, despite his weakened state.

"We caught you quickly, after that. Two nights later? Too easy." the former soldier taunted.

Angelus didn't rise to the bait. But his cool demeanor was only barely restraining the fury that lie within.

"How did you escape?" Riley continued. "How have you been able to survive?"

Angelus growled, again. He took a menacing step toward them, and Buffy answered with protectively stepping in front of her boyfriend.

"And how are you liking the behavior modification chip the Initiative placed in your brain, you piece of shit?"


	4. No Place Like Here

"What?" Buffy questioned. "What behavior chip?"

"Behavior modification chip," Riley corrected. Angelus looked furious, but he let the conversation continue without his input. "When we were catching hostiles, we usually drugged them with sedative-laced blood packets. Then our neurosurgeons attached the BMCs within their dead brains. It made the vampires harmless, to humans."

Buffy looked skeptically at her boyfriend. "What was the point? Why didn't you just stake them?"

"Hey, now!" Angelus called out, mockingly.

The Slayer ignored the vampire and waited for Riley to answer her questions.

"Because the chips neutralized them as a threat. We were hoping to rehabilitate some of them, perhaps mobilize them as an infantry to take the heavy casualties against more deadly monsters." He looked to the vampire, then, and smirked condescendingly. "Can't feed. Can't so much as start to _hurt_ a human, before that thing fires, huh?"

"I get by," Angelus coolly replied. "I just used the loophole to my advantage: beat up younger, weaker vampires, and have them do the killing for me. And, as far as my 'escape,' I can't really take the credit. That was all you, Buff. You shut that whole stupid Initiative program down with more destruction than even _I_ would have been able to accomplish. I think I feasted on a couple of your downed soldier buddies, G.I. Joe, before I left the premises."

Angelus winked at Riley, who started to push past his girlfriend, but Buffy easily held him back.

"Why are you _here_ , Angelus?" Buffy gritted out.

The vampire shrugged innocuously. "I just missed you, Buff. Kept thinking about that last night we spent together, remember that?" He licked his lips and let one of his hands crudely caress the side of his groin.

Riley spoke up in disgust, once again. "Wait, Buffy. No…did you? I mean…not with _him_ , right? Not with that _thing_. Not when he was…like _this_."

Buffy stood stiffly, choosing not to answer either of them.

"How could you?" she heard Riley whisper behind her.

"Angelus," the Slayer finally spoke up. "Leave! You can't hurt us anyway, apparently. I will deal with you later."

"I look forward to it, lover," he purred in response. He shot one more triumphant look at the soldier-boy, then turned on his heel to meet the Slayer in a more private setting.

She and Riley remained quiet and still, watching the vampire leave. When Buffy turned to face her boyfriend, he was looking down at the dirt. She worried her lip, wondering what she needed to say to get Riley to agree to go to the airfield.

"Riley, I-"

"I can't believe it," he interrupted her. "I can't believe I thought so highly of you. You were amazing, to me. I felt so lucky to be with you." He looked up at her then, still sweating, but tears were also at the corners of his eyes. "I loved you so much."

"And I love you-"

"No, you didn't."

Buffy took a step back, her face showing the offense that she felt. "You don't know-"

"You couldn't possibly love me _and_ be the same girl who would…sleep with that evil bastard," he spat out the accusation. "I don't think I know you as well as I thought I did."

She was equally angry and horrified by his words. Tears were welling up in her eyes, too, but she saw no sympathy from the man she had grown to love after Angel/Angelus had broken her heart. If this was how it had to end to save Riley's life, she would allow him to stomp her heart to pieces…and pick them up by herself after he was gone.

"Well, then," she sniffed. He was looking at her so hatefully. She had never seen Riley with such a look in his eyes. "If that's the way you feel, you'll probably be wanting to leave Sunnydale, Mr. Iowa."

She left the cave, willing him to follow, and follow he did. By the time they were at the surface, he looked calmer and slightly contrite. His poor health made him wheeze heavily, as if that small trek was a marathon up Everest. Buffy waited patiently for him to catch up, but she crossed her arms as a shield.

"Graham said he'd be at the airport. He said they had a helicopter waiting or whatever," she said flippantly. Inside, her heart was aching in its cavity. But she needed to stay strong.

"Buffy, I-"

A black SUV sped to their location, coming to a hard halt and destroying much of the grass that was still in the area. The duo steeled themselves, concerned that there could be a threat in the vehicle, but it was Graham who stepped out of the passenger door.

"Agent Finn," he nodded. "Riley. Good to see you, man."

The two comrades hugged each other in greeting, with Riley lightly laughing at the absurdity of it all. They pulled apart and Graham nodded at Buffy respectfully.

"Thanks for finding him."

"Did you think I wouldn't?" she asked. Having the government vehicle swoop in and pick him up was a little off-putting. _They couldn't just wait for him at the airport?_

"I had total faith in you, Buffy, but we weren't about to wait around when we could be helping you in the search." He looked back at Riley. "You're looking great man, but I think we can help you feel more like your old self, again. If that's all right with you?"

Riley looked at Buffy. And then she saw it. Regret. But not disgust. He was not wanting to leave her on such terrible terms.

"I shouldn't have said some of that, back there," he vaguely commented. Graham seemed to understand something personal was going on, so he walked back to the SUV and waited by his door.

"You shouldn't have said any of it," Buffy corrected. "I have _always_ been myself around you. I didn't put on an act. If you can't handle the darker parts of my life, then perhaps it _is_ better that we end this. Now."

He hesitated. Then he nodded sadly.

"Goodbye, Buffy."

"Goodbye."

Riley walked slowly back to the black car, where Graham waited to assist his weakened friend into his seat. Graham gave a wave and took his seat in front of Riley. As the vehicle rode away, Riley looked straight ahead, while Buffy watched his silhouette through the tinted window.

And then he was gone. Out of her life. Forever.

She started shaking, and then tears flowed freely from her burning eyes. Soon, she was crouched on the sparse grass, embracing her knees and trying to take deep breaths to calm her hysteria.

Eventually, she trudged back home.

Dawn was at a friend's house, watching a movie, and Joyce was lying down on the couch.

"Mom?" Buffy called out. "Are you okay?"

"Just another headache, sweetie, nothing to worry about."

"Nothing to worry about? This is one of the signs your doctor told us to watch for! We need to get you to the hospital-"

"No, Buffy, it's fine. I'm fine," she insisted. She stood, slowly, and walked past her daughter to the stairs. "I'll get some sleep tonight, and then I'll be…fine." She climbed the steps with measured steps, and Buffy allowed her to leave.

Out of her mother's earshot, she went straight to the phone to make a call. It was still relatively early in the night. Hopefully Giles or Jenny would still be at the Magic Box.

"Thank you for calling the Magic Box, where we sell stuff you want to buy! How can I help you buy something today?"

Buffy paused, not expecting to hear that particular voice.

"Anya?"

"Yes, who is this?"

"It's Buffy. Where's Giles?"

"He's somewhere doing something. The store is very busy with shoppers tonight. We are running a flash sale! He asked me to help."

"Okay…well, I need to talk to him, and it's kind of important, so…"

"Well, what is it?"

"Oh, uh, I don't think-"

"Buffy, I can't tie up our single phone line for you, especially when you're not buying anything. So, what is it?"

"Fine," the Slayer huffed at the ex-demon. "I just wanted to ask him if there was something I could do to see if my mom's headaches are being affected by something…magical. She's had a bunch of tests done, but they can't find-"

"Yeah, there's a spell for that. A 'spell to reveal all spells'. Nothing to it. Super easy."

"Oh," Buffy blurted out in surprise. "Well, I guess that might work. How do I do it?"

"Buffy," the former vengeance demon sighed, "I don't have all night to sit on the phone with you. Ask Willow. She'll probably have everything you need to do it. Good luck!"

"But how long-"

Buffy heard the click at the other end of the line, signifying that she had been hung up on. She let out an aggravated grunt, but called Willow.

"Hello?"

"Will? Where are you? Are you in your room?"

"Yeah…why?"

"I need to do a spell."

An hour later, Willow and Tara arrived with a spell book, candles, and various mystical objects.

"So, this is all pretty straightforward," the young witch proudly shared. Tara began setting up the spell, pouring red sand in a large enough circle for Buffy to meditate in.

They had collectively chosen Buffy's room to be the center of the spell, just in case it didn't work or was interrupted.

"Just light the candle, sit in the circle, and try to empty your mind." Willow happily explained the spell in-depth when she and Tara had first arrived, so her words were merely a reminder. "Ideally, you'll shift to a plane of existence between the physical and the spiritual. It's kind of an astral projection thing, where you'll still be in control of your body, but your mind will see both what is physical and what is immaterial."

Tara finished the setup and approached Buffy timidly. "D-do you want us to stay? To m-make sure everything goes…okay?"

Buffy smiled at her friends gratefully. "No, I think I've got it. If it doesn't work, I'll let you know."

"Let us know, either way," Willow amended. "I'm so excited! Buffy doing magic!" The redhead embraced her blonde friend and then left the home with her timid girlfriend.

Buffy took a deep breath and stepped into the circle. As instructed, she lit the candle in front of her and sat in total silence, focusing on nothing other than her heartbeat. Time seemed to slow down, and she suddenly felt dizzy.

Opening her eyes, she saw her room, but it was strange…distorted. As if she was seeing her surroundings in slow motion and through a darkened lens. She placed the candle down in front of her, and the small sound echoed in her ears.

She moved slowly, ever so slowly, out of her room and toward her mother's room. She knocked lightly, and the sound, again, reverberated as if she was banging a drum. When she didn't hear a response, she deftly opened the door to let herself in. Her mom was breathing deeply, fast asleep, but she had left the light on next to her bed. Buffy searched around the room, but saw nothing out of place or abnormal. She flicked the light off and quietly left her mother in peace.

Walking down the hall, she thought she saw something flicker in the corner of her eye. She stopped and walked to where she had seen the disturbance. A family picture on the wall. Nothing special. Just a cute photo of her, Dawn, and their mother at a park on a sunny day.

But, as she stared at it, it changed.

Dawn's entire body disappeared, and now it was only Buffy and Joyce sitting on the grass and smiling at the camera. Buffy took a step away from the picture, shaking her head.

She continued down the hall, passing her sister's room with its closed door. Thinking of the picture, she opened the door and peered through. Her sister's room was intact, with all of the girly features her immature sibling still held on to. And then, it was all gone. A blank room, a blank slate, used as storage for her mother's museum inventory. The room fluctuated wildly, between a cozy teenager's room and a cluttered cache. She closed the door and kept walking, reaching the stairway and descending to the main living area of the house. If whatever was hurting her mother was not in the master bedroom, it might be on the main floor of their home.

Crossing into the living room, another flicker caught her attention. Another picture. This one was a small photo of Dawn and Mom, with daughter leaning back against mother. But, in the next instant, Joyce was seated and holding a book where her youngest daughter once sat.

Another picture next to it…Buffy and Dawn sitting on a rock at the beach. And then, no Dawn. Just Buffy perched on the large boulder, having her picture taken.

The locks on the front door were undone, and Buffy heard Dawn enter the house. They met at the base of the stairs, with Dawn wishing to go up to her bedroom. She stopped and greeted Buffy, but another voice rang out in the Slayer's head. It sounded like a conglomeration of whispered voices, all speaking perfectly in tune. In her mind. And as they spoke, Dawn herself disappeared and reappeared. Sometimes, she was just an outline of blindingly green light.

" _She is the Key. For centuries, it had no form. Only light. And then, the abomination appeared. Trapped in this dimension, the Beast needs the Key to open up the division between worlds to return to the hell dimension it came from._

" _We shaped the Key. Gave it form. Gave it to you, as a sister."_

Dawn was speaking to Buffy, upset that she wasn't being listened to. She finally rolled her eyes at her older sister's strange behavior and stomped upstairs. The voices continued in Buffy's head.

" _She must be protected. The Beast must never find her, or all will be lost._

" _We made her human. We made her helpless. We knew you would protect her. She is made from you. We placed her within all of your memories._

" _She is innocent in all of this. Please, protect her. Love her. She knows nothing about what she truly is."_

There was a finality to the speech. And, as soon as it was concluded, the revealing spell was pulled from the room, in its astral form, whooshing away through every crevice, until Buffy could no longer see between the different realities.

Buffy felt hollowed out.

_Not my sister. She's not my sister…_

She recalled Angelus' words to her, then.

" _Slayer, you don't_ have _a sister. You've_ never _had a sister."_

The soulless vampire knew something. Or, at the very least, he was more aware of things going on around Buffy that were hidden from the Slayer. And everyone else she knew.

She locked the front door, remembering Dawn had neglected the task, and ran upstairs to her own room. She found a piece of scrap paper in her nightstand, and grabbed the nearest writing tool she could find.

_the key – opens different dimensions. hell dimension  
_ _the abomination = beast?  
_ _key is light  
_ _who made it human?_

_Dawn doesn't know_

Buffy placed the paper down on her nightstand, facing down. She put the pen away in the drawer and left the room.

"Dawn?" she called at her sister's door.

"What do you want, Jerk?"

Buffy rolled her eyes at the rude answer. "Can I come in, please?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because I don't want my room to smell."

"Please, Dawn?"

There was no immediate response, but Buffy heard the young girl's bed creak and then footsteps falling on the floor en route to the bedroom's door.

"What's going on? You're acting weird," the childish brunette stated. "Well, weirder than normal."

Buffy walked into the room and sat on Dawn's bed. Dawn was a cross between annoyed and frightened, with her arms folded but her eyes looking worried.

"What's wrong with you?"

She couldn't tell her. Dawn didn't know. Buffy wasn't ready to share what she didn't understand. It was too much.

"Sorry, I-" Buffy began. "Riley and I broke up, and I'm still kind of reeling from it."

Dawn, for all her immaturity, collected her emotions and sat down next to her big sister.

"That sucks."

"It's for the best. It was just time for us to go our separate ways, you know?"

Dawn nodded and leaned into Buffy. Buffy placed a protective arm around her little sister. _My little sister,_ she thought. _My blood…_

They sat for a while, before Buffy wished Dawn a good night's sleep and returned to her own room. She looked at her list, trying to scour her mind for any additional information. Nothing stuck out, except for the items she had already written down. She would check with Giles tomorrow, to see if he could give her any insight as to what the hell was going on.

And she knew to expect another visit from Angelus at any moment. Next time, though, there would be much more to talk about.


	5. Familial

"A _key_? Are you sure that's the word you heard?"

Giles sat at the table in the Magic Box, which had not yet opened. Sundays were the only days that the store had a delayed opening time. Buffy sat across from him, leaning against the back of the wooden chair, with her arms folded.

"I heard it twice, Giles," she affirmed. "And not just 'a key'… _the_ Key. Unique."

"And the voices, they sounded like what, again?"

His charge recounted the auditory revelation, occasionally looking at the listed items on the scrap paper she brought from home. Buffy left her mother and Dawn back at the house, excusing herself to return to the dorms, but, instead, she went straight to the magic shop.

"Where's Jenny?" Buffy asked, looking around for the knowledgeable woman. "Maybe her 'people' or whatever might know more?"

Giles frowned. "She's not here. She was called on by…some relatives. Apparently, with Dracula in town, they are eager to curse him with his soul. She asked to take an Orb of Thesulah with her, so I assume that's what their plan entails."

Buffy shook her head, unhappy to hear that Miss Calendar was taking such a bold risk.

"I know," the former librarian spoke up for her, "I'm not pleased she's doing this, either. But she did assure me that she would not be anywhere near that…erm, _him_. Dracula." It wasn't normal for Giles to act so flustered, but he gathered himself quickly and diverted the subject. He disapprovingly lowered a glare at the Slayer. "And, speaking of soul-cursing…Buffy. Why didn't you tell me that Angelus is back in Sunnydale?"

The young woman took a deep breath. She had forgotten to fill her Watcher in on that detail. Guilt filled her, as yet another piece of crucial information had reached Giles behind her back.

"He only just came to see me two nights ago," she reasoned. "It's been a busy couple of days, what with my mom going to the hospital, Dracula, Riley leaving-"

"Wait," the befuddled man stopped her. "What's happened, now? Where is Riley?"

Buffy sighed, dismayed that she had to recount her breakup when it was still so fresh. "The night Riley and I went out patrolling, we had to go back early. He was feeling crappy. Headache, fever… I figured he had some kind of bug, so we went back to my house to check on Dawn. My mom was already there, and Xander and Anya were leaving."

She stopped there, knowing that Giles would have heard either Xander or Anya's account. No one, aside from Riley, knew that she had actually seen Angelus. She could afford to be a _little_ secretive.

"Is there more to this story?"

"Yes…" Buffy hesitated. "After we got home from the hospital, yesterday, I went to my dorm room to check on Riley. See if he was feeling any better. But he wasn't there. Graham was. Do you remember him? From the Initiative? He was one of Riley's closest friends."

Giles rolled his eyes. Buffy cringed inwardly, knowing how out-of-the-loop she had made Giles feel during that time of her life. To her Watcher, Graham was just a faceless soldier.

"Well, anyway," she continued. "He – Graham – told me that Walsh had been drugging all of them, and now they were experiencing withdrawals."

He sat up straighter and leaned toward the table, looking murderous at the mention of the former professor's name.

"Drugging her own men? That _wretched_ woman..."

"Yeah, but it gets worse," Buffy braced herself to speak about what had led to the collapse of her relationship with the second man she had ever loved. Giles seemed to forcibly push the memory of Walsh from his mind, as he focused on where the story led. "Graham said that Riley needed to be treated, or he would die-"

"From the symptoms of withdrawal? I doubt that's true," Giles scoffed.

"I think it was some kind of super-soldier drug, and it was breaking down Riley's system. You didn't see him, Giles. He looked terrible," she insisted. "His heart-rate was so elevated, it scared the doctor, well, this intern, anyway, at the hospital. Graham needed my help to get Riley to leave with him."

"They couldn't treat him here?"

Buffy was unsure if it was due to the questions that were stopping her thought process or…something else…but talking about her and Riley's breakup was less emotional than she assumed it would be.

"It's a quad pro….quo…thing? Riley has to work for the government to receive the help."

" _Quid_ pro quo," Giles quietly corrected. "And he…just left? I thought he cared about you more than that."

"He – Well, Angelus kind of showed up. I guess he followed me to where I found Riley," Buffy admitted. "I had told Riley about Angel, when we talked about previous relationships. He knew Angel was a vampire with a soul. He didn't understand it, but I think he just brushed it off as a mistake made by younger me."

She stopped, again, hesitant of how much to divulge of her second meeting with the vampire. She was already omitting the first visit, including the invitation. Her mentor was silent, awaiting her to continue.

"So, Riley realized who Angelus was, but here's the weird thing: Riley knew him, too."

Giles' interest was definitely peaked. He placed the fingers of one hand along his lips.

"Riley called him, um," Buffy struggled to remember the number, "Hostile 19? The Initiative caught Angelus."

"The _Initiative_? How long has Angelus been back in Sunnydale, Buffy?"

"I don't know, exactly. I just know when they caught him."

"And when was that?"

 _Well, shit,_ she cursed for putting herself in a conundrum.

"Um, a couple of days after Parker died. Remember that UC Sunnydale student that died in the car accident?"

Giles appeared to be deep in thought, trying to recall those specifics. His eyes widened slowly, when he recognized the name and circumstances.

"Yes, I believe I do," he whispered.

Buffy opened her mouth to relate Angelus' reasons for killing her one-night stand, but then quickly closed it, remembering that Giles knew nothing of her personal connection with Parker. She opted to finish this particular chapter dealing with her vampire ex, instead.

"Anyway, he escaped that night…when we were all at the Initiative HQ fighting Adam." Giles was beginning to look overwhelmed, but there was still more to go. "Walsh wasn't only drugging her soldiers and creating monsters. She was also installing microchips in the brains of some of the 'hostiles' they caught. Particularly, the vampires."

The intelligent man picked up on the significance of what his Slayer was saying quicker than she could explain it.

"You're saying that Angel…Angelus has a microchip implanted in his _brain_? What does it do? Track him?"

"More like send a jolt of pain when he tries to harm or kill a human."

"How on earth does it do such a thing?"

"I don't know," Buffy shrugged. "Riley called it a 'behavior modification chip.' And it works, apparently. Angelus admitted that he hasn't been able to kill anyone, with it in."

"Behavior modification…fascinating." Giles expression hardened, then. "For what purpose were they keeping these post-surgical vampires around? What were they going to use them for?"

"According to Riley, they wanted to use them on dangerous missions, sending them out to kill or be killed."

"A vampire infantry? Preposterous." The Watcher shook his head disapprovingly. "Not to speak ill of the dead, of course, but the more I hear of that Walsh, the more detestable that woman's…" He saw Buffy's glare and forced himself to abandon the rest of his sentence. "Moving on, how has Angelus been able to survive, not being able to harm humans? Stealing from blood banks?"

The Slayer contemplated that fresh idea. "Hmmm…I hadn't thought about that. Maybe that was one way he got blood, but Angelus said that he was able to beat up a few lackey vamps to do the killing for him."

"He can harm other vampires, without the chip firing?"

"I got the impression that he can harm anything that isn't human, without setting that thing in his head off."

"Interesting," Giles murmured thoughtfully.

The two broke away from their conversation and set their minds on finding out more about the least-understood of all of the new happenings: the Key. They poured through the restricted volumes on the bookshelves of the secluded room at the top of the store, thankful that it was a Sunday. The Magic Box wouldn't be opened to the public until noon.

"Here's something," Giles spoke up. "It's about a group of monks called the 'Order of Dagon.' Apparently, they were charged with keeping the Key safe from a being called 'Glorificus'?"

"Do you think that could be the name of the 'abomination' or 'Beast' that those voices mentioned?"

"Perhaps," conceded the former librarian, subconsciously relishing being back in research mode. "It also mentions that these monks, this Order of Dagon, possessed the collective ability to bend energy and reality, which may explain how they placed the Key within Dawn and made our memories include her."

"Um, about that," Buffy shyly added. Giles stopped to give her a look, all too familiar with what her hesitating meant: bad news. "Angelus, he didn't seem to be affected by it. I told him to stay away from my family and friends, and when I specifically said my sister, he was totally confused. He told me that I'd never had a sister."

"Wait a minute," he held up a hand, to motion for her to stop speaking, but they he placed the hand on the creases above his brow. "In what order did all of this occur? I cannot _believe_ all of this happened within only two days!"

"Dracula arrives, Angelus confronts Xander, Riley gets sick, Mom in the hospital, Graham asks about Riley, I find Riley, Angelus finds us, Riley leaves with Graham, I perform the spell, and the whispering monks tell me Dawn is the Key," she listed off, using all ten digits to count the events of the weekend. "What about that is so difficult to understand?"

"Right," Giles dryly responded. "Not _at all_ difficult to understand such a simple timeline."

" _Anyway_ , like I was saying, Angelus knew Dawn didn't belong-"

Buffy was cut off, again, by the sound of knocking. Giles looked at his watch and saw that, indeed, it was only minutes from opening. The researching duo descended the ladder to the main floor, with Buffy heading to her training room hidden in the back of the building.

Giles went to open the door and found two people, Dawn and an attractive blonde woman.

"Hey, Giles! Where's Buffy?"

"Hello…Dawn," he couldn't help but look at her strangely. She detected the oddness behind his greeting and played with her hair nervously, as she crossed the threshold into the store.

Behind her, the young woman huffed and pushed her way through. The mass of thick blonde curls piled loosely upon her head bounced, as she strode into the store in her low-cut maroon dress and heels.

" _Excuse_ me, small fry, but _some_ of us need to get our shopping done _before_ the end of the millennium."

The store owner forced a polite smile on his face as a greeting, then redirected his attention to the younger of the two ladies.

"She's in the back," he whispered to Buffy's little sister. He then made his way to the cash register, needing to open the till before the first purchase of the day.

Buffy was surprised to see Dawn enter, as she had been pummeling the dummy in the training room. She left the rubber form and quickly made her way toward the confused-looking girl.

"Giles was kind of weird, just now. Is everything okay? Is he mad at me for something?"

Buffy sighed. _This is so her, to make any little thing into drama, ever since we were kids…_ But she blinked, realizing that she never was, in fact, ever a "kid." Dawn hadn't existed until recently. Angelus knew nothing of her, so Dawn couldn't be more than two years "old"…if that.

"No, he's just being Giles. Don't worry about it. And why aren't you with Mom?"

"What, am I supposed to watch her all day? Like I don't have a life?!"

She pulled Dawn into an embrace, not giving her little sister any warning.

"Okay," Dawn said slowly. "Now you're acting weird, too. Again." She sighed loudly in frustration. "Why can't everyone just be _normal_?"

"Let's go back to Mom and enjoy the rest of our Sunday. We both have classes tomorrow." Buffy pulled back from her sister and saw the disappointment in the young brunette's eyes. "Want to watch the new 'Scooby-Doo'? I hear it's really good!"

Dawn perked up at the idea of a movie with her sister. "Nah," she teased. "Too corny. 'Inspector Gadget,' all the way!"

"Like a Swiss Army detective is cooler than a dog that talks!"

The siblings left the secretive room behind, crossing through the store toward the main entrance to say their goodbyes to the proprietor. He was at the cash register, ringing up the woman in the maroon leather dress.

"And here is your receipt," he smiled at the beguiling customer. She, however, looked bored and impatient to leave. "Thank you!"

She gave a half-hearted smile and strutted out the establishment, without so much as a word.

"Rude," Dawn muttered.

"Um, Giles? We're going home. I'll go out tonight, make some…inquiries." Buffy reflexively shot a glance at Dawn who glared back. "If you find anything, let me know, and I'll meet you here."

Giles was looking at Dawn, again, with a worried expression. Buffy cleared her throat loudly to snap him out of his trance, which, thankfully, worked.

"Oh, ahem, yes. Yes, that will be fine. Be safe."

Leaving the Magic Box, the sisters were not more than ten feet outside when a man stumbled up to them. His clothes were dirty, but the slacks he wore seemed to be of nicer quality. His tie was loosened and askew, and his graying hair was sticking upright, as if he had tried to pull it out.

"I said NO! But she did, anyway…too much noise. Noisy in my head. Hurts in there." He used a clenched fist to bang against his temple.

Buffy rushed over to stop his self-harm, but he froze when he locked eyes with Dawn.

"It's YOU! You are so bright! Are you Little Miss Muffet? She's looking for curds and whey. Curds and whey. Curds and whey, curds and whey…." He repeated the phrase, and Buffy pulled her sister away from the insane man.

"What was _that_? Why did he look at me like that?" Dawn shrieked.

"He was crazy, Dawn, don't worry about it. Let's go home."

The rest of the day was difficult for the Slayer, who maintained a pleasant façade to her family, but was ruminating over everything she had learned in the past twenty-four hours. The monks' whispered voices were still ringing in her ears.

As soon as the sun had set, she changed into a better, more flexible outfit. It was a chilly night, so she wore a thin blue sweater and dark jeans that had enough stretch to allow for combat. She braided her blonde hair into pigtails on either side of her head, grabbed a scarf, and went out the door to patrol. Her mother had sent her a smile, as she made her way out, but Dawn didn't even acknowledge her leaving.

Buffy walked to the closest cemetery, certain that Angelus would find her quickly. As she scanned the familiar gravestones, a vampire leapt from his hiding place to attack. She absorbed the hit that sent them crashing to the ground, then quickly rolled away from the demon. They both rose to their feet and adopted fighting stances, and Buffy took the time to assess her adversary.

"Wow," she commented. "I don't even have to _ask_ when you were changed." She held the stake in her hand to her shoulder, ready to strike. "Long black hair, lots of hairspray, leather graffitied jacket, too-tight black leather pants, combat boots… I mean, could you _be_ any more stuck in the eighties, Van Halen?"

He snarled as he ran toward her. She waited until he was close and spun around with a roundhouse kick to his face. The momentum sent him reeling toward a tombstone and collapsing. He regained his footing and braced himself for her advance.

"Also, just so you know, you smell terrible. Like, it's _bad_ bad. Have you bathed at all in the last two decades?"

She walked closer to him and he coiled his arm to punch her, but she easily grabbed the arm and used it to flip him through the air. He landed on the ground, again, and only recovered to a crouching position.

"The eighties were fun, and all, and I get that you want to relive the past…oh, wait, did I say re-LIVE? How embarrassing. Is that insulting? To say the word 'live' to a dead person?"

She cartwheeled toward him, but his eyes remained on the stake. When she brought it over her head, he jumped up and grabbed her wrist with both of his hands, driving it into her abdomen. Buffy looked up, shocked, at the foul demon who had somehow bested her. She stumbled back against a crypt wall, and he followed with malicious intent.

 _Did I_ …she asked herself, in disbelief of what had just happened. _Did I just…lose?_


	6. Fool's Love

As the foul-smelling vampire victoriously lunged at the recoiling Slayer, another body slammed against his, and the two were rolling on the ground.

Buffy's relief diminished, however, when she saw that her supposed rescuer was Angelus. Her body slid down the wall slowly, and she pulled the stake from her midsection and placed it aside. Near enough for her to defend herself with. She pulled her scarf from around her neck and pressed it into her wound.

The two vampires fought with all of their strength, until Angelus called out to Buffy.

"Throw me the stake!" he barked at her.

She did so, and the rocker vamp was soon thereafter dust in the wind.

Angelus growled at the final, final resting place of the dead vampire, then walked calmly toward the Slayer.

"That was pathetic," he said to her. His eyes narrowed. He crouched down to her level, eyeing the scarf. "Have you begun to heal?"

"I-I don't know…it still _hurts_ ," she whimpered.

Although she didn't know why, she allowed the vampire to pull the makeshift bandage away, and his eyes flashed gold at the sight of the blood. He started to lean toward the open wound, but she used her arms to crawl away from him on the ground. His eyes darted up to find her fearful ones, and he bared his teeth at her.

"You owe me, Slayer," he hissed. "You were staked, not killed. Thanks to me. Now, pay me for my services."

She shuddered, but did not move further away. He took her stillness as acceptance, and bent over her to drink from her midsection. The opened skin was already healing, having only the appearance of a deep gash, but the vampire lapped at her until the wound had fully closed. As it did, he reared up and looked at her with a satisfied smile. She was still weak, but the healing had given her enough energy to sit upright.

"That vamp was barely more than a fledgling. You losing your mojo, there, Buff?"

"I don't know what happened. How did I almost lose?" She stood slowly, and Angelus followed.

"Every Slayer loses, eventually," he chided. "What makes you so special, that you won't die on the job?"

Buffy thought on that. "How _did_ the others die?" Her words were more self-reflective, but the vampire continued the conversation anyway.

"Spike always said that he 'had a good day,' the two times he killed Slayers," he shrugged. "I warned him to stay away from them, but he couldn't help himself. All it would take was one 'regular day' on the Slayer's end, and he would fit in his own car's ashtray."

Buffy removed the blood-soaked light blue sweater and walked over to the nearest trash can to dispose of it. Angelus followed, staring at the goose-bumped skin that her black tank top exposed. There was a hole in the tank top, with her smooth, unblemished flesh visible, but the dark fabric hid the blood that stained it.

She stopped, then, and turned to Angelus.

"Hit me," she directed.

Her former lover looked at her in interest. "What?"

"Hit me," she repeated. "I want to know what it looks like, on my end, for that chip in your head to fire and stop you from hurting me or anyone else."

"No," he snarled. "I said it before, I'm not a pet; I don't take orders. I won't help you make sure the shock collar works."

Buffy punched him across the jaw, and he took the blow, completely unprepared.

"What the HELL are you doing, you little bi-"

BAM! She punched him, again, making his face morph into his demonic self. When she went to punch him a third time, he grabbed her fist in his own, stopping it from connecting. She kicked his side, hard, before he could register the incoming assault.

He snapped, then, and lunged at her, knocking them both back to the ground. As they fell, he let out a scream and grabbed his head with both hands. Buffy stood up immediately, but Angelus rolled from side to side, in excruciating pain. When he was done, he lay still on the grass, staring up at the night sky.

"HAPPY?" he yelled at her.

She stepped closer to him and offered her hand. He brushed it away and stood on his own. He faced away from her and righted his clothing that was now dirty and twisted.

"I'm sorry," she softly said. "But I had to make sure."

Angelus turned to her, but did not look especially willing to accept her apology. He narrowed his eyes at her and moved to walk away.

"Wait!" she called after him. "Wait, please! I need to talk to you!"

She ran after him in the dark, but he only stopped after she grabbed his arm.

"Please, Angelus," she implored pitifully.

He crossed his arms and stepped back to the closest tombstone, leaning back against it.

"So?" he derisively said. "Talk."

"Okay." Buffy shifted her weight from one foot from the other, nervous to be spending time alone with Angelus. With no one in the vicinity, she realized that the last time she had been this isolated with her soulless ex, he had tortured her. "Um, you said that I didn't have a sister…"

He smirked broadly at her, happy to have circled back to that confusing conversation.

"Well, I did this spell-"

"You're doing _spells_ , now, Buff? A witch Slayer? _That's_ new."

"No, nothing like that," she denounced. "Still one hundred percent Slayer. It was a spell to reveal all spells? Something like that?"

He looked mildly interested, but said nothing.

"You see, my mom, she fainted, and we took her to the hospital, and they ran all these tests, and they aren't sure what's wrong, or if there's anything wrong, really, but I thought it might be something magical…" her ramblings earned an amused smile from Angelus, which made her clam up.

"And?" Angelus coaxed. "What did this spell of yours _do_?"

"It showed me that Dawn, my sister, was… out of place?"

"So what does any of this have to do with me?"

"You-," she hesitated. "We all have these memories with Dawn. I remember when our parents took us to the beach, and she cut her heel on a shell… Or when I had my twelve-year-old birthday party at the roller rink, and Dawn begged me to bring one of her friends along…"

Angelus stared at her blankly. Bored.

"And the others, Giles, Xander, Willow… They remember the first time they met her-"

"So do I," he added. "Two nights ago."

"Yeah, I know," she bit her lip. "We found out that…she's…someone special. There's someone after her, but we're not sure who or what this thing is, but I need to protect her. And, even if she's not really my sister, she was made by some monks _from_ me. She's my blood. And…I love her."

Angelus stood and walked right up to the Slayer, towering over her small body.

"She's 'someone' that 'someone' or 'something' is looking for, and you need to protect her. That's a lot of vague language, Slayer." He leaned into her ear and continued. "How am I supposed to help if you won't tell me anything worth knowing."

"I don't need your help," she answered defensively, stepping back. "I just wanted to know when Dawn _actually_ arrived."

The vampire looked up, as if deep in thought. "Let's see…she definitely didn't exist your freshman year. When I escaped, I went and checked in on you, once. She wasn't in the picture, then, either. That was last summer. So, it had to have been between then and two nights ago."

Buffy's mouth dropped open in surprise and dismay.

"But-But that means she's less than…she's only been my sister for less than six months?"

Angelus said nothing, but he offered an apathetic shrug.

Buffy lingered, but then started walking home. Angelus did not follow, this time, but he called out to her retreating form.

"You're welcome for the help, Buff. I'll make sure you return the favor!"

When she arrived home, Dawn and Joyce were each in their respective rooms, but only Dawn's door was closed to give her privacy. Buffy found their mother packing clothing into one of her weekender bags.

"Mom? What'cha doin'?"

Joyce looked over to her eldest daughter and gave a reassuring smile.

"Oh, good, you're home! I was hoping you wouldn't be too late." Her smile faltered, as her eyes betrayed the worry she was feeling. "Um, the headaches haven't stopped, so my doctor wants me to check myself into the hospital. Just to do some more thorough tests."

" _More_ tests?"

Joyce hugged her, then, holding her in a loving embrace. "It'll only be for the night," she whispered. "I'll be fine. And the sooner we know, the sooner I'm on the right meds to help me keep up with my two teenage daughters."

Buffy scoffed into her mother's shoulder. "I'm twenty," she corrected her.

"Yeah, well," Joyce rebutted, "sometimes you still _act_ like you're nineteen." She noticed her daughter's tank top, then. "Oh, Buffy! What happened? Were you hurt? Where's the sweater you were wearing? And why is there such a large hole in your shirt?"

The Slayer smiled at her mother's typical barrage of concerned questioning.

"It was just a typical vamp," she shrugged. "Nothing special. Except that he looked like he had been turned into a vampire in the eighties and had stayed in his coffin until tonight. Totally disgusting and smelly. I must've snagged my shirt on a tree branch, or something."

With no physical evidence to disprove her daughter's story, Joyce shook her head and finished gathering her needed belongings. She zipped up the packed bag and heaved it onto her shoulder, raising her eyebrows nonchalantly. Buffy followed her mother, stopping behind her in the hall, when she knocked at Dawn's door.

"Sweetie?" No answer. "Dawn?" Joyce looked at her eldest with an eyeroll. "She's probably listening to music." Buffy gave a knowing smile to agree. "Dawn? I have to go! Buffy's here, and I'll see you tomorrow! … I love you!"

There was still no movement from the other side of the door, so Joyce regretfully walked toward the stairs.

"I'll check on her, before I go to bed," Buffy promised.

They reached the front door, and the young woman felt her heart race in her chest. Nothing supernatural was affecting her mother. Nothing that Buffy or any of her friends could fight. Or fix. She had felt this before, this helplessness, but never so wholly. Thinking back on the times in her life that she was scared, really scared, it was usually for herself alone. Just her own well-being.

_Guess I've matured since my confrontation with the Master._

She and her mother exchanged a final hug and then Joyce was off for the hospital.

Buffy slowly trudged back up the stairs, still feeling a little sore from her being staked. At Dawn's room, she knocked lightly.

"Dawn?"

Mere seconds passed, and her little sister was there at the door, opening it for them to see each other face to face. Dawn had watery eyes and tear-stained cheeks. Seeing Buffy in front of her, fresh tears began to fall.

"I didn't want Mom to see me like this," she explained, her voice wavering.

Buffy grabbed hold of her sister and hugged her tightly. Dawn reciprocated in kind, her body shaking with emotion.

"What's wrong with Mom, Buffy? She was acting weird, again, tonight. She wanted to know who I was and she yelled for you to come help her," the young girl cried.

Inwardly, Buffy cringed, unsure if their mother could tell Dawn wasn't actually her child, or if whatever was affecting her was responsible for random, nonsensical outbursts.

"She's just feeling a little over-tired, I think," Buffy lied. "After this next round of tests, I'm sure the doctors are going to figure out what's wrong with her. And then, she'll be fine."

"Really? You're not worried?"

"No," Buffy lied, again. Her throat constricted, momentarily, and she had to swallow to be able to speak. "I'm not worried."

She moved to walk into Dawn's room, holding onto her little sister's shoulder with a cradling arm. Dawn was in her pajamas, and she allowed her big sister to tuck her into bed. On any other night, she surely would have protested and kicked Buffy out of her room. Buffy lay down next to her, on top of the covers, stroking her sister's brown, silky hair. The calming gesture soothed Dawn, and she finally fell into a deep sleep. Satisfied that her sister was safe and comfortable, the Slayer nimbly removed herself the bed, closing the door quietly and returning to her own room.

She collapsed to the floor, after shutting her bedroom door, and let her own tears fall; but she remained silent, forcing her breathing to stay deep and even. When she heard commotion outside her window, she looked up to find Angelus smirking at her on the other side of the glass. Her tears confused him, and he moved closer, delighted to find that his invitation had not been magically rescinded. He opened the window up fully and entered into her room.

"You didn't replace the wards, Buff? How touching."

Buffy surprised him by standing and rushing to his side.

"What are you-"

She silenced his words with a desperate kiss. He pulled away and glared at her, holding her body at arms' length.

"What the _hell_ is going on with you, Slayer," he growled.

"Just shut up," she silenced him.

His eyes widened in genuine shock. This had not been the greeting he had expected. She grabbed his wrists and pulled his hands down, off her shoulders. Then she grabbed him, again, her hands pulling at the lapels of his jacket and placing her mouth over his.

Angelus gave in, then, figuring that her willingness to be seduced was one less hurdle he had to jump. His arms gathered her petite frame and carried her to her bed. She used her own arms to hold his neck tightly, barely parting from their kiss to breathe and thankful that the vampire had no need to break for air.

He ripped the black top off of her body, smirking into her mouth when he remembered that the action mimicked another time when he destroyed a black shirt that the Slayer was wearing…years ago.

When he tasted the salty tears on his lips, he pulled away to momentarily see what state she was in. He expected pure, feral desire to consume her, as it did him, but she continued to cry, with a continuous stream running down each cheek. He reared up off of her reclined position and looked at her with contempt.

"What's wrong with you?"

She pulled up her elbows under her, leaning on them for support. It wasn't especially comfortable, but she wanted to be a little closer to him. Even as he was rejecting her advances.

"My mom is…sick," Buffy reminded him, sniffling. "She just left for the hospital..." She took a breath and did her best to calm the storm within her. "But I want to forget about that, for a little while. Please? Help me forget…Angelus."

Hearing his name on her lips enflamed him, and he dove onto her, doing his best to imagine her overcome in her lust, instead of desiring a pity fuck.

She fell back onto the mattress, allowing herself to enjoy intercourse, once again, with the soulless demon. She hated, absolutely hated, herself… why did she want Angelus at all? He didn't love her. He couldn't. Riley loved her. And she couldn't love him. A pathetically corrupted version of a love triangle.

 _I want Angel, especially now,_ she reasoned. _But I can't do this with him. I can only have Angelus in my bed._

His foreplay consisted of testing the slickness of her core. She wasn't fully aroused, but his fingers found some moisture there. He pushed himself into her, unconcerned with her comfort. She muffled a cry, biting into his shoulder, but she did not push him away.

"That…was…painful," she panted out, almost breathless. "How? Your…chip?"

Angelus smirked with new insight.

"Pain with pleasure," his graveled voice muttered. "I guess the chip knows more about the intent behind the action, eh, Buff?"

He continued slamming into her, and he stared lecherously when she arched her back and threw her head back into her pillow. The veins in her neck were on full display, surging with life-giving blood. He licked her skin, from the hollow at the bottom of her neck up to her bottom lip, before catching her silently moaning mouth with his for another devouring kiss. He trailed his lips back down to that large jugular vein, but, when he placed his teeth against it, he felt the beginnings of pain in his scalp.

The vampire quickly pulled away, not wishing to feel the full fury of the chip's punishment.

"Wh-What?" Buffy huffed, Angelus still sheathed in her, but unmoving.

He glared down at her.

"I want your blood, Slayer. I want more," he said seriously. "You owe me for the information about your fake little sis."

Buffy's face scrunched in anger.

"No! No, I'm already throwing myself at you, and you had my blood earlier!"

"I want more," he repeated, growling low.

She rocked underneath him, still filled with his length, and tried to buck him off. He grabbed her arms and locked her wrists against the mattress, pushing her down.

"Remember our dance?" he asked.

Buffy hesitated, unsure of the reference, before her eyes widened in recognition. Angelus smiled in smug satisfaction.

"I held you, scratched along your soft skin, right here-" he whispered, removing one of his hands from her arm and using a finger to mark where his nail had once cut into her neck.

Her freed hand flew up to grab his wrist, although she knew he couldn't draw her blood.

 _He needs me to willingly give it,_ she knew.

She let go of his wrist. His stare bored into her. He was waiting. Her heart increased in tempo, pushing more endorphins and dopamine through her body. The pressure of his finger against her neck ceased, and then it was all of his fingers lightly splayed around her slim neck, dragging upwards to cradle her chin and jawline.

_I just want to forget…for a while…_

She winced, knowing the pain that was coming, and flinched when the nail on her middle finger broke the sensitive skin where Angelus' finger had traced a nostalgic line. As the blood fell in hot streaks down her neck, she placed her free hand back on the bed.

He smiled triumphantly, but without true joy. It was a cruel, sadistic smile. The hand at her jaw pushed her head back into the pillow, until she saw only the textured white ceiling above them. His head dipped down, and he drank carefully, slowly. He listened for her heart to slow, then pulled away, not wanting the chip to fire at a point of no return.

His hand released her chin, using it to brace himself to continue his thrusting. He came quickly, not waiting for her to reach her own release.

When he finished, he saw she was crying, again. The sight disgusted him. It made him angry. Beyond what he could explain.

Buffy was staring at the ceiling. He rolled off of her, righted his attire, and fled, needing nothing more from her, and wanting to be far away from this version of the Slayer. Someone that he didn't know.


	7. Shady

Anya was back in the Magic Box, the second night in a row, attempting to reconcile the receipts and balance the till in the lone register. Giles had reluctantly hired the overenthusiastic capitalist, and he was loathe to admit that it was working out to be one of the best business decisions he'd ever made. Although her quirks could be somewhat tiresome, she was efficient and quick with both selling and accounting.

But the two were still getting used to one another.

"You have seventeen extra dollars in your register," she spouted out. "Good job, Giles!"

The shop owner frowned and moved from the table where he sat updating his purchase orders. When he approached the young woman, she looked up and gave him a broad smile. He did not share her enthusiasm.

"I beg your pardon," he stiffly answered. "You might want to count it, again. There were only a few cash transactions today, and I know that register was balanced at the beginning of the day."

Anya's smile strained, confused as to why an overage in the register would not be cause for celebration. Seeing the serious look on the former librarian's face, she rolled her eyes and counted through the bills again.

"Two hundred thirty, two hundred thirty-five, two hundred thirty-six, two hundred thirty-seven, two hundred thirty-eight. Yep! I'm right! Seventeen dollars over!" she declared triumphantly.

The British man removed his glasses delicately and squinted at the blonde woman in front of him.

"That cannot be…"

"Okay…" the former demon muttered, flabbergasted. "I'm sorry, maybe I don't have this whole 'commerce' thing down as much as I thought I did, but – isn't having more money than expected a good thing?"

"Not when it means that one or more customers were short-changed," he explained dryly. "Small shops like this one rely on repeat business. Especially this one," he stressed. "My specialized merchandise is only valuable to a small subset of the population."

Anya looked unconvinced. "Specialized merchandise? You have candles and unicorn knick-knacks on the counter," she scoffed, gesturing to the items with a wave of her dainty hand.

Giles pinched the bridge of his nose to keep from retorting, then he slid his glasses back into position.

"Just – go through the receipts, please. I'll see if I can figure out which transaction might have caused the imbalance. Hand me everything that was a cash sale."

She shrugged and went to work, quickly sorting through the pieces of paper and placing those that indicated cash sales on the glass countertop beside her. Four slips made up the measly pile. Giles looked at each one, doing his best to place a face with the items on the receipts. One stood out in his memory and he held it up for Anya to see.

"Oh, dear," he whispered, his voice thick with unmistakable recognition. "I'm fairly certain it was this one. A young woman came in, and she was the first sale of the day. Buffy was here-"

He paused mid-sentence, not wishing to appraise the relatively new group member of the Slayer's personal business. Not yet, anyway.

"Take the seventeen dollars and place it in an envelope, along with this receipt," he instructed, handing the slip to Anya. "If the customer returns for her change, we will apologize and assure her that it was an _accident_ and not a stealthy way to stuff our pockets."

Anya glanced at the receipt with interest, but froze when she saw the contents of the purchase.

"You sold her a Kohl's Amulet and a Sobekiam Bloodstone?!"

The older man hesitated, now recalling the transaction vividly. "Yes?"

"Huh."

"What is the significance, Anya?"

"Those two things are used to create a monster," Anya shrugged, while Giles' eyes widened in apprehension. "Not just any monster," she continued. "A pet, kind of, of Sobek. The Egyptian god? The one with the crocodile head."

He went straight to the bookshelves, searching through the titles for one on Egyptian mythology.

"And how do you know this?" he asked, without looking in her direction, still focused on his task. He found a text on ancient Egypt and began to thumb through its pages.

"I mean," Anya began, "I _was_ a witch, before I was a vengeance demon. That particular spell was pretty infamous, in my time. No one survived it."

That final tidbit of information caused Giles to pause in his dealings and slowly bring his line of sight back to his employee.

"What do you mean, 'no one survived it?'"

"It creates a monster, some type of big scary crocodile…thing. But it's more like you're summoning the pet of Sobek himself. And no ordinary person can control a beast like that. I mean, we're talking about a crocodile monster! Lots of carnage, if you know what I mean."

Giles' flipped through the book until he found a pertinent passage.

" _Sobek was the Crocodile God, known as a god of strength and power. A patron of the Egyptian army, he was also believed to divinely protect Pharaoh from harm, including the crocodiles that pervaded the waters of the Nile. Amenemhat III, a pharaoh in the twelve dynasty, was well-known for his ardent worship of Sobek._

" _Like the crocodile, Sobek himself was aggressive and shrewd, able to seek out his enemies and protect his interests with superior senses and nocturnal hunting abilities…"_

He trailed off, staring through the book in his hand worriedly.

"You said no human could control this monster, once summoned?" Giles asked, trying to work out the hypothesis forming in his head. "What about a demon?"

"Doubtful," she shook her head. "Unless they were able to harness some pretty strong magic, or they were, like, a god or something."

He looked at her in disbelief. "Did you say 'a god?' What is that supposed to mean? What god?"

"I don't know," she answered, placing herself in a defensive position. "I'm just saying. Sobek was an Egyptian god, and it's his 'pet' or whatever."

Giles let that subject drop and focused on a new train of thought.

"What else must be done to summon this monster?"

Anya nervously played with the currency in front of her, shuffling through the bills quickly and repeatedly.

"You don't think…" she whispered.

"We need to be prepared for anything, especially in light of how destructive this could be," he nodded slowly.

The former demoness inhaled and held her breath for a few beats before releasing it. "Um…a crocodile?"

"A crocodile?" the Watcher scoffed. "Not exactly available in a local pet store. Can it only be a crocodile? Will any other reptile work?"

"Of course not!" she sneered. "Hello? Sobek. Crocodile head, the Nile? No, it can't be some pet snake."

"Where…" Giles began, but his eyes widened, when he realized the answer to his unspoken question. "The zoo," he whispered.

Anya nodded in agreement. Then she placed the money, with some regret, back in the register.

"But, why would anyone summon such a thing, if they wield power, themselves? If it can only be created by an overpowered demon with magical prowess, why would they need protection?"

"I know _that_ ," she offered. "I think that it's like summoning a either a guard dog or a guide dog. Or both. It's not just about protection, it's about using a mystical creature to find a mystical object…or creature. Not like it's ever worked, though."

Giles pondered that further, and Anya, having lost interest in the conversation, went down to the basement to retrieve more sales bags for the register.

Only a little later, both workers were on their way home. Giles dropped the cash deposit at the bank's after-hours drop box. Before driving to his apartment, he took a route that led him in the opposite direction.

The zoo was quiet, dark. Devoid of any staff, as far as he could see, while sitting in his idling car. The gates were locked and looked undisturbed. There were safety lights in the parking lot, along with a couple of muted yellow bulbs near the entrance. He sat and watched, with no idea what he would do if a crocodile monster pushed through the iron gate and charged him.

Giles looked at his cell phone. No missed calls. He stopped the car completely, but he kept the keys in the ignition. _I should call Buffy_ , he reasoned. _But I don't have much to go on, here. It's not that late. She's probably out patrolling. She won't pick up…_

His thumb hovered over the numbered keys, wondering who to call. And then, he made his choice. On the other end, Jenny Calendar's voice mail immediately picked up and her cheerful greeting gave concise, familiar instructions. Now it was his turn. After the tone.

"Erm, hello, Jenny. I know you're…away at the moment. But, I wanted to leave you another message to let you know that I'm thinking of you. I am outside the zoo, believe it or not. Anya is concerned that someone, some _thing_ might be trying to steal a crocodile and use it to create a monster guide dog." He burst out laughing at the end of that ridiculous sentence. The answering service didn't cut him off, so he continued. Once he had gained back his composure. "Oh! I'm sorry! Very sorry. It's been a rather strange day. Even more so than usual. I have so much to talk to you about." He paused, and his throat suddenly constricted. "I miss you. Please call me back, as soon as you get the chance, no matter what the hour or how brief. I just want to know that you're safe. I love you," he finished softly.

He placed the closed phone on the passenger seat and leaned his seat back to grant him some much-needed rest. He was only able to keep his eyes open for another twenty minutes, before he was in danger of spending the night in his car. He righted the seat, restarted the car, selected a favorite CD, and took one long, last look at the zoo entrance area.

 _Nothing_ , he thought, as a yawn emerged from his exhausted lips. He wondered if, perhaps, Anya was mistaken…a fleeting thought.

He drove home, went to bed, and resolved to connect with Buffy tomorrow afternoon, after her classes.

All of Sunnydale seemed to slumber deeply, undisturbed by the usual plethora of supernatural activity. The Hellmouth at rest.

In the morning, Buffy had Dawn call a school friend's mother to hitch a ride. After that was taken care of, and Dawn was picked up, Buffy went straight to her mother's side at the hospital.

"They just kept me under observation last night," Joyce explained nonchalantly. "Standard stuff. I slept pretty well, considering I'm in a hospital bed," she smiled. "I guess that means I need to get a new mattress, huh?"

"Only if I get a new one, too," Buffy bargained jokingly. "So, what's on the agenda today? When are they letting you leave?"

"I'm – I'm actually about to go get an MRI done." Her mom's voice was quieter, more serious. Not anxious, not remorseful. Joyce was no Slayer, but she had birthed one. She figured that meant she had some of her daughter's strength within her being, as well. She could weather this storm.

"An MRI…" Buffy trailed off, staring at the door. "That's, like, an x-ray for your brain?"

"Something like that," Joyce nodded. "What about school? What class are you supposed to be in, right now?"

"Don't worry about it, Mom. I want to be _here_. I deserve a day off, anyway."

Joyce looked at her daughter dubiously, but before she could argue, a young medical professional entered the room.

"I'm sorry to intrude, Ms. Summers," he apologized upon entering. "I just need to record vitals, again. I see you have a visitor. It's nice to see you, again, Miss…?"

"Oh," Buffy stood, offering her hand which he took in his own and shook politely. "It's just Buffy. The oldest daughter."

"I'm Ben," he responded in kind. "I was watching over your mother last night." He smiled at the pretty blonde daughter, trying his best to guard his attraction. He forced himself to professionally address his actual patient, instead. "I'm almost off, now, and Kristin will be checking in with you for the rest of the day. Your MRI is scheduled for 1:15, as you already know, and we'll need to have the results back before we can discuss discharging you."

He smiled encouragingly, and Buffy felt a warmth in her chest for the kind resident.

"I know this is not exactly a stress-free experience," he soothingly said. "But you're in the best place, with a team of people that exist to help you. No matter what the MRI shows…or doesn't show." He noticed the worried glance shared between mother and daughter. "Once we find the cause of your symptoms, we'll be able to find the solution."

Ben took a deep breath and allowed for a comfortable pause in the conversation, so that both ladies could take in the situation at hand.

"Do either of you have any questions?"

Buffy and her mother exchanged another long glance, each awaiting the other person to answer. Buffy broke the connection and lightly shook her head at the handsome young medical professional.

"I can't think of anything, at the moment," Joyce sadly smiled.

Ben nodded with a tight smile on his lips. Both ladies waited patiently and silently for him to read the monitors next to the hospital bed. He made a few quick notes on the computer in the room, then left with an awkward half-wave.

"He's nice," Buffy remarked to her mother.

"He's cute!" Joyce added. "But so is Riley, of course."

Buffy hesitated, unsure if this was the right time to relay what had transpired only two nights ago. She figured the drama might take her mother's mind off the upcoming MRI, and she only needed to tell an edited version.

"Actually…" she eased into the conversational topic slowly. "We aren't…dating, anymore."

"What?" Joyce looked more concerned than her daughter, sitting a little straighter in the bed. "What happened? Are you okay?"

"Yeah, Mom, it's…I mean, Riley wasn't happy here. In Sunnydale," she explained. The words came from the recesses of her mind, deep down in her subconscious, and she suddenly understood why she wasn't as broken by the recent collapse of her longest relationship. "We didn't love each other enough to want to make it work, you know? He went back…to Iowa. It sucks," she admitted, "but I think, in the long-run, we'll both be better off."

Joyce nodded sympathetically. "I'm sorry that your father and I couldn't stick it out for you girls, too. We wanted to."

"Dad certainly didn't care, once he found someone else to start a new family with," Buffy scoffed.

"Well," Joyce sighed, sorry that she had interjected her own failed relationship into the discussion. "No one's perfect. There's a part of me that is glad your father left, believe it or not. Pretending that everything is okay when, really, it's just…apathetically _comfortable_ …"

Buffy nodded, then. Both in understanding and wishing to end the depressing talk. She took both of her mother's hands gently into hers and squeezed them lightly.

"I'm going to go check in with Giles at the Magic Box, catch him up on my patrol last night, pick up some lunch, then I'll be back before you go…" Buffy stopped herself, and swallowed the lump that was forming in her throat. "Before one o'clock."

Her mother gave her a knowing look, with pursed lips and a single nod of her head.

"I'll be back soon, Mom," she promised. "I love you."

"I love you, too, sweetie," Joyce responded, watching her daughter leave the sterile room.

At the store, Giles was helping a customer at the register, wrapping up the three floral-scented candles that were being purchased. Buffy idly looked at the shelves, trying her best not to make the civilian suspicious that she was actually there to speak to her Watcher. When the transaction completed, Buffy approached the counter.

"Find anything?"

Giles stared at her perplexedly, his mind overflowing with the busy weekend's events.

"About Dawn and what's after her?"

He shook himself back to the present.

"Um, I'm afraid not, no," he stuttered out. "Anya had me on a wild goose chase last night-"

"What? What did I miss?"

He sighed, then, taking off his glasses to pinch the bridge of his nose in a habit all too familiar to Buffy and her friends.

"I sold a couple of items to a young woman, yesterday, and Anya said that what was purchased could, theoretically, be used to conjure some sort of crocodile monster."

Now it was Buffy who was perplexed.

"So, I…went to the zoo last night."

"Aw," Buffy mockingly interrupted the story. "Did you have a fun time? What was your favorite animal?"

"Yes, very funny," Giles muttered. "At any rate, it all turned out to be nothing. But, I _did_ reach out to the Counsel this morning-"

Buffy groaned loudly. "Do we really need _their_ help? We've made it this far without them."

"It would be foolish of us not to use such a valuable resource," he chided the younger woman. "My texts, here, equate to a mere drop of water, compared to the oceans found in their libraries. They have yet to respond, but hopefully they will be cooperative in giving us any additional information."

Buffy frowned, but she didn't try to refute Giles' wisdom. She changed the subject, her mind darting to yet another unresolved issue.

"Anything on Dracula? How is Miss Calendar and clan?"

There was a slight change in Giles' disposition, then. He did his best to hamper the feelings of unease, but he knew he was more the type to wear his emotions on his tweed sleeve.

"Erm, I haven't heard anything," he casually answered. "Radio silence, as it were. Jenny did tell me that she needed to go 'off-the-grid' for this particular assignment. Something about her people's traditions."

Buffy nodded and gave a sympathetic smile in solidarity. Giles continued.

"But, I suppose not hearing anything about Dracula, or seeing an increase in vampiric activity means that they have things well enough under control, don't you agree?"

"Oh, yeah," Buffy affirmed. "Look what they did to Angelus. Dracula seemed like a walk in the park, compared to _him_."

"Indeed," Giles took the invitation. "And, speaking of Angelus, any new sightings?"

The Slayer took a deep breath, once again needing to tread these waters with delicacy.

"Um, yes, actually. On patrol last night, I was actually staked-"

"Buffy! Are you all right? Are you still hurt? Was it Angelus?"

"No, no," she dismissed all of the questions. "Angelus couldn't…listen, just let me tell you what happened, okay? And then I'll take your questions." Another breath, another beat. "Some whacked-out eighties vamp attacked me. I was kicking ass, but, when I went to stake him, he grabbed at my hands and it went into my torso. Hurt like hell. I backed up, and Angelus came out of nowhere and staked the vamp, himself."

"He…saved you?" Giles asked, incredulously.

"Yes," she said. _No need to go into the blood lust_ , she shivered. "He kind of made fun of me, that I almost lost-"

"That sounds more like him," he muttered, interrupting.

"Giles! Can we please hold all the commentary until the end?!"

The Watcher nodded, as a promise.

" _Anyway_ , I got the chance to talk to him about Dawn. He said that he didn't know exactly when she came into the picture, but that she definitely wasn't in our lives as of this past summer."

Giles' eyes widened, and he made his way to the round table that he often used for research. He sat slowly, taking in the newest information.

"I remember meeting her, for the first time…" he said softly. "The night I went to your house to apologize for monopolizing your time, and found out that you had lied about where you were to both myself and your mother…"

"Yeah, I remember," she thought back to the infamous events surrounding the stupid band candy she had been forced to sell.

"She was a little girl, bounding down the stairs, wanting some of the candy for herself, but your mother sent her back to her room…"

"None of that happened, though," Buffy countered. "If it's like what I saw in that spell, Dawn was never there. It was just you and Mom – ugh…" she fought back a gag.

_But Dawn doesn't know. She thinks she was there. She has the same memories we do…_

"And, speaking of Mom, I have to get back-"

"Get back where? And why aren't you in class?"

"Mom's getting an MRI in a couple of hours. I told her I was going to swing by here to tell you about the patrol, then grab some lunch on the way back. I need to get back to the hospital before she gets the test done." Her tone was flat, even. Unemotional.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Buffy," Giles spoke gently. "Is there anything I can do? I can close up the shop for the day, join you in the hospital?"

"There's no need for that," she shook her head, still with the same unaffected voice. "It's just a test. She'll be fine."

Giles studied the petite woman in front of him. Too young to have so much weight on her shoulders.

"Yes, I'm sure she will be," he softly confirmed.


	8. Running from Fear

**Hello, readers!**

**I felt that a preface note was needed, on this particular chapter. I love Anya. I mean, I *love* her as a character so, so much. I'd probably place her fourth on my list of all-time favorite Buffy characters. I've heard her applauded as being written in such a way that appeals to individuals on the spectrum. Her honest, often emotionally-separated delivery, her speaking her mind in a frank, no-nonsense way…her inability to change her behaviors simply to make others more comfortable and follow social norms. I adore her.**

**But, I have to write in a way that mimics how she was depicted on the show. How she was** _**treated** _ **on the show. I don't like having to do that. I'm going to try to address it, later, but not in this chapter.**

**I'm sorry if my allowing characters to make jokes or say unflattering commentary about her hurts you. It hurts me, too. She deserved better, in my opinion.**

**Jenn**

* * *

The MRI revealed what no amount of magic was able to ascertain: a tumor. A small but significant mass in Joyce's parietal lobe. A shadow. When the doctor came into the room to explain the surgery that would take place in two days, Buffy couldn't help but wish that it was the kind Ben delivering the difficult news. The surgeon was clinical and cold in his explanation, giving statistics and other information that did nothing to assuage the Summers' ladies' worries.

Buffy relayed the news to Willow, who passed it on to Giles and Xander. Soon, Joyce's private room was filled with visitors. Dawn came with the support group, too.

"We come bearing gifts!" Willow joyfully spouted.

The gang had carried in bouquets of flowers and balloons, placing the colorful items around the small area. They glanced at each other, before one spoke up.

"Um, I hope you feel b-b-better soon, Ms. Summers," Tara said sweetly. "I'll, um, go wait outside, if that's okay?" She looked to her girlfriend. "I'll give you some time to visit."

"I'm going with Tara," Anya nodded. "I, too, don't want to be in this awkward situation. But I do hope the doctors fix you, Joyce! See you soon!"

Tara blushed, but Anya pulled her through the door. Xander's mouth was agape in embarrassment, while Willow shot him a dirty look. Buffy's smile was tight and thin on her amused face. Joyce and Dawn both looked like they were suppressing laughter.

"Sorry for my girlfriend," Xander glanced back and forth between Buffy and Joyce. "She's still learning how to be human."

"How long will that take, do you think?" Willow muttered.

Giles cleared his throat. "Ahem. So, did the doctor meet with you about what to expect?"

"You just missed him," Buffy shrugged.

"It's a tumor," Joyce willingly shared. The room tensed at the loaded word, so she smiled to promote a feeling of peace. "It's nothing major. They don't believe it's malignant. But it's impacting my parietal lobe, wherever that is. The sooner it's out, the sooner I'm better."

"Parietal lobe," Giles quietly repeated. "It, uh, affects your general perception. How your brain interprets and makes sense of…reality." He darted a glance at Buffy to emphasize the importance of his words.

"Oh, well…" Joyce responded to the additional information. "That sounds like something I need to have working correctly, hmm?" She gave a lighthearted chuckle, which was echoed with varying degrees of authenticity around the room.

"You said that the surgery is in two days?" Willow addressed Buffy.

"Yep."

"We wanted you to know," Xander picked up the conversation, "that we've got patrolling covered, tonight. You just stay in and eat pudding and watch crappy sitcoms."

"Thanks, Xander," Buffy replied with genuine appreciation. "Giles, Willow," she nodded to the complimentary trio.

Silence filled the room, at that moment. Everyone exchanged polite smiles, unsure of what else needed to be said. Giles was the brave soul who broke through the tension.

"I do hope you feel better soon, Joyce, truly," he spoke sincerely, with genuine affection for the woman whom he had shared a connection with. Forgetting their ill-advised, magically-influenced tryst, the Watcher had immense respect for the woman who had, for the most part, single-handedly raised the best, most resilient Slayer he had ever heard of. Buffy was like a daughter to him, but he knew Joyce would always be the most influential person in Buffy's life.

"Let us know if there's anything we can do," Willow chimed in.

The threesome left the room, leaving the Summers women to themselves. Dinner was brought to their room, courtesy of the hospital's ordering service, and they sat and ate while watching reruns of "MacGyver."

"Oooh, that Richard Dean Anderson," Joyce cooed dreamily. "What a hunk! You know," she admitted to her daughters, "I always kind of thought your father resembled him."

Both girls gagged at the thought of their mother swooning over their now-absent father.

"MacGyver?" Buffy leveled a judgmental look at her mother. "More like 'Little House on the Prairie'! Dad wasn't _that_ good looking."

Dawn offered to move the plates out of the room, once their meal was over, and the search began for a new program to watch. They scrolled through the limited stations, unhappy with their options, when Joyce suddenly let out a moan.

Both girls turned their focus from the television to their mother, who held her forehead with both hands and closed her eyes in visible pain. The television had landed on a news program, where the weather forecast was being broadcast with cheerful music in the background.

"Mom?" Buffy called out. "Are you okay? Do you want me to get a nurse?"

Dawn nodded at her sister to go, but, as Buffy stood, Joyce brought her hands down and shook her head. She looked up at her eldest and gave a reassuring smile.

"No, I'm fine, now," she said in an even tone. When she looked over at Dawn, her expression changed to one of confusion and wonder. "Who are you?"

The younger girl swallowed and looked up at her sister for help. Before Buffy could say a word, Joyce continued.

"WHO ARE YOU? Wait, I know…I know…" the troubled woman pressed on. "You're not here! You're not here! Who are you? WHO ARE YOU?!"

Buffy jumped to her mother's side, trying to calm and silence her. Dawn ran out of the room, and Buffy was forced to abandon their ailing mother to ensure her sister's safety.

"Dawn!" she called out, running after the young brunette who didn't pause in her escape, but ran ahead faster through the halls and pushed past doors.

"Dawn!" Buffy called a little louder, still not wanting to create too much of a scene in such a delicate setting. Her little sister led her through the hospital wing, and she wondered how much time it would take for them to get back to Joyce's side.

"DAWN!" Now there was true urgency. Dawn made her way out of the building, into the night, into the dark.

Hearing her older sister's demanding yell, Dawn ran faster, away from what scared her the most. The night and its monsters were nothing, compared to the emptiness she felt each time her mother had one of these episodes. She felt as though her mother looked right through her, as if she wasn't the daughter of Joyce Summers. Nothing in the dark could frighten her more than what she left behind in the hospital room: a mother with a tumor which, apparently, made the woman agitated by her younger daughter's presence.

"DAWN! STOP!"

Buffy's voice was stronger, closer. But still behind her. Dawn idly wondered if Buffy was letting her run away, to a certain extent. There was no way that she could outrun _the_ Slayer for this long.

Across the parking lot, through a small park, past benches, sidewalks, a fountain…

"DAWN!"

The girl felt a strong hand grip her shoulder. Both sisters came to an abrupt halt. Dawn collapsed on the grass beneath her feet, her sprint forcing her body to rest. Buffy stood above her, also breathing heavily, but not as winded as her kid sister.

"Dawn, Mom is sick! She didn't know what she was saying. That wasn't…her…exactly. She just-"

"No, Buffy!" the girl aggressively interrupted. "You don't understand! That was the third time she's done that! But she never acts that way with _you_!"

The older sister hesitated, needing to think of an appropriate excuse to assuage her distraught sibling…who wasn't actually her sibling.

"I mean," Buffy started lamely, "I have been on this earth six years longer than you."

Dawn shot down the poor excuse with a cynical sneer.

"Or maybe it's because I'm just her favorite?" Buffy jabbed at her sister playfully, hoping for her to take the bait and fight back. When it didn't work, Buffy sank down to her knees and embraced Dawn. "She's _sick_ , sweetie. The tumor is coming out in two days, and she won't ever do it again."

The young girl seemed unconvinced. She stared ahead, uncomforted.

"Besides, we all know, if there's a favorite, it's you. Right?"

Dawn gave a little smile as a reward. "It pays to be the baby. Plus, my grades are _way_ better than yours were."

Buffy feigned offense. "I suppose you're going to knock me down with some second-grade level insult, now? Do I smell, too?"

Dawn lightly laughed, leaning further into her sister's warm arms. "Duh! Slaying may keep you tough, and all, but you still come home a sweaty mess."

Buffy started to make a snide remark back, but a noise in the distance silenced her. Dawn noticed the sudden alertness, and she started to ask what Buffy was doing, when the Slayer took over. Buffy's eyes stayed trained on the direction the slithering noise was coming from, while rising from the seated position, still holding her younger sister. When they were both standing, Buffy slowly moved Dawn behind her and motioned for her to move stealthily away.

Something snaked through the grass. But it was large. Too large to be a snake…larger than an anaconda. As it drew closer, it stood on its hind legs and reared up in front of the two awe-struck girls.

They were faced with a large beast; it looked like a twelve-foot crocodile, but the proportions were off. The body was larger, the arms not as spindly. The tail was still fat and long, and the head was similar to the original animal's, as well.

Buffy's eyes widened in silent terror. _Where in the hell did this thing come from? And how am I going to kill it before it eats us?_

It advanced upon the two of them, hissing menacingly.

Buffy moved toward a park bench, desperate to break the wooden slats of the seat into some sort of makeshift weapon. Dawn kept slowly inching back towards the hospital. The creature was twenty feet from them, and the Slayer was moving without concern for drawing its attention. She punched the slats and they broke under her fist, her eyes still concentrated on the monster.

The crocodile, however, seemed to be set upon stalking Dawn. It inched toward her as she inched away, taking longer strides. As it advanced, it tilted its head and sniffed the air between them. Buffy held the jagged-edged wooden weapon out like a spear, ready to strike when it came nearer.

"It's okay, Dawn," Buffy spoke quietly and calmly. "I'll spear this thing as soon as I get a good shot."

"And when will that be?" Dawn's voice was quiet, too, spoken through her clenched teeth, but her words quaked with fear.

Buffy carefully made her way back to her sister's path. The creature was a mere ten feet from the younger girl, when its eyes temporarily glowed yellow. It took one last look at Dawn, then turned and scurried away.

Dawn exhaled the breath she had been holding, but the crocodile's retreat had the opposite effect on Buffy. The Slayer was more fearful, now, than she was when it was advancing upon them.

"… _what was purchased could, theoretically, be used to conjure some sort of crocodile monster."_

She remembered her Watcher's flippant remark. She didn't know why it had fled, but the thing had to be taken out before it ate half of Sunnydale.

"Dawn," she said in a commanding tone. "Go back to the hospital. Run. If Mom wigs out, you can wait outside her room until I come back. Go, now!"

Buffy took off running in the direction the creature crawled off, stealing a look over her shoulder to see Dawn running obediently back toward the hospital.

It traversed the downtown area, purposefully staying away from the crowded areas, thankfully. When it entered one of the town's many cemeteries, Angelus flanked the large beast and dove on top of it. It quickly rolled and twisted its body with an impossibly fast whip of its tail, and Angelus was sent rolling away. Realizing that it was now being hunted by two different entities, it stopped in its tracks to rear up once more and face down its enemies.

Angelus recovered gracefully. His face morphed into his demon visage, as he moved to stand nearer to Buffy in her fighting stance.

"What zoo did _this_ thing escape from, Slayer?"

"What are you doing?" Buffy asked the vampire, but kept her eyes on the creature.

It was shifting its weight between its hind legs, experimenting with its balance. It shifted its focus from Buffy to Angelus, trying to figure out which one to take out first.

"Can't kill humans…for now. But I still need to kill something. This'll definitely be a first, for me."

The crocodile monster charged Buffy, moving slower on two legs. As it lunged to bite her, she drove the wooden stake between its jaws. The sharper end pierced the top of the inside of its mouth, and it let out an angry growl. She took the time to punch at its gut, but it showed no reaction to the blow. The flimsy piece of wood snapped under the pressure within the beast's mouth, and it shook the leftover splinters from its gaping maw.

It lunged, again, and Buffy was unable to do anything more than dive away from its attack. She tucked into a roll, flanking the creature and placing it directly between herself and her temporary ally.

"How do we kill this thing?" Buffy shouted out.

The reptile whipped its tail, which Angelus easily dodged, while facing the Slayer.

"Do you happen to have a shotgun hidden somewhere naughty?"

"Ew!" Buffy exclaimed. "Can we drown it?" she asked, her eyes darting to the nearby fountain, shallow as it was.

"If we can keep it under for a half hour, sure."

"Ugh, fine!" she replied with disgust. _First things first, then._

She did a backflip away from the creature and grabbed a long sliver of the splintered wood. It still recognized Buffy to be the bigger threat of the two warriors, so it advanced on her position. She chucked the improvised weapon around the overgrown lizard to Angelus, who caught it easily.

"Blind it!"

The vampire smirked appreciatively and leapt straight for its left eye, behind its range of sight. The point sunk into the eye socket with a sickening squish, blood pouring out and driving the animal briefly insane.

"Give it!" Buffy ordered. Angelus, in a rare showing of teamwork, threw the withdrawn stick as directed. While the monster still reeled from the injury, Buffy jumped, catching the stick in midair and plunging it through the right eye.

The crocodile roared in pain and in fury. No longer having its sight, it desperately smelled for its assailants and thrashed around in a circle around itself.

Angelus and Buffy took care to avoid the swinging limbs and tail, as well as its opened jaws. After one well aimed punch to an apparently weak area under its arm on its side, it was pushed to the ground, once again on all fours. Buffy straddled the blinded croc's mouth, holding it shut with all the strength she possessed.

Seeing the deadliest part of the creature now incapacitated, Angelus began throwing punches onto the top of its head. The multiple blows to the same area finally amounted to significant damage, as first blood appeared, then the sounds of the skull fracturing.

Even after the reptilian monster stopped struggling, Angelus continued to rain blows upon its cranium, unable to tell how much of the blood belonged to the crocodile and how much belonged to his torn knuckles. Buffy released the mouth and the creature didn't move. She stepped away and watched the blood lust consume Angelus for a minute. It felt like longer.

When splattered blood appeared on his cheeks and chin, he idly licked at the liquid. That was too much for the Slayer and she called him off.

"Angelus! I think we're done!"

The vampire stopped, pulling himself off of the ground, and he used his sleeve to wipe the sweat and blood from his ridged forehead. Then he morphed back to his human face. He walked to where Buffy stood, eyeing her hungrily.

"That's what I call foreplay!" He reached for the Slayer, but she pulled away. His expression darkened at her rejection of him. "Come on, now, Buff…don't go all chaste on me. Not after last night-"

"I told you, that was just to help me forget about the crap I'm going through!" She looked at the deceased crocodile and paused in thought. "I need to find Giles. He knows about this thing, and about the person that summoned it."

"Someone summoned THAT?" Angelus looked oddly impressed.

Buffy's heart dropped in her chest. "Maybe…why did you say it like that?"

Angelus gave a low chuckle. "That thing? That was _huge_! I've never seen anything like it. NEVER. If that thing was summoned by someone else, imagine how powerful THAT person must be." He looked down at her with mocking pity. Then he turned and walked away. But not before calling out once more.

"Have fun talking things over with that stuffy Watcher of yours. Looks to me like you're up against the fight of your life, Slayer!"


	9. Out of the Woods

The remainder of the night was relatively quiet, except for the normal workings of the hospital. When Dawn arrived back to Joyce's room, her mother was already asleep, having been given ample drugs to calm her agitated state. The attack of mini-Godzilla had apparently exhausted the young teenager, because Buffy found her sleeping on the couch in the room.

The Slayer stretched her weary limbs, still reeling from the fight. There were two chairs left in the room, and neither looked comfortable. Not wishing to disturb her slumbering family, she tiptoed through the room, deftly pulling one chair to the other. She sat in one, put her feet up on the second, and tried to join them in repose.

When morning came, Buffy awoke to chatter and the clattering of silverware against plates. She groggily sat up, feeling a pain stabbing her lower back. Groaning and stretching, she saw her mother and sister staring at her with amused faces.

"Sorry we woke you," Dawn half-heartedly apologized. "I went down and got us breakfast from the cafeteria, if you want something."

Joyce nibbled on a very unappetizing-looking bran muffin. "Were you out last night?"

Buffy looked to Dawn, but her sister seemed unfazed. As if she hadn't run out of the room and straight into trouble.

"Don't you remember?" The older sister looked at her younger sibling, but Dawn gave a slight shake of her head, looking away.

"I…don't remember much…sorry," Joyce admitted with unwarranted embarrassment. "I mean, I remember us eating dinner, watching TV…but then I think I kind of conked out."

"Oh, well," Buffy started, having to think the lie up quickly. "I thought you were still awake when I left. Figured I'd take a walk outside, see if there was anything to slay. But it was pretty dull." She looked pointedly at Dawn, who still refused to meet her gaze.

"Ah. I thought Xander said they would be taking care of that?"

"They did, I was just bored. Restless. Anyway," Buffy redirected the conversation to safer waters. "Dawn, who's picking you up for school?"

"Why do I have to go to school and you don't?" the teen whined.

"Because _my_ school doesn't send out a truancy officer if I'm not there. I'll call Xander to come take you."

Dawn rolled her eyes, but she didn't argue against having her sister's attractive friend as her chauffeur.

As soon as Xander arrived, Buffy gave her mother a kiss and headed to meet Giles. He was at the Magic Box, as expected, and he smiled when his charge walked through the jingling door.

"Ah! I didn't anticipate seeing you, today," he greeted her. When he noticed her looking around the shop, he answered her unspoken question. "It's fine. We're quite alone. No customers, yet, I'm afraid."

"How did last night go?" she asked without an exchange of pleasantries.

"Last night?" the former librarian arched a brow. "Well, Willow, Xander, and I split up, handling the three main cemeteries. No suspicious deaths, though, so none of us ran into any rogue vampires out and about." He saw exhaustion in his Slayer's listless eyes, and she rolled her head in half circles to release tension in her neck. "How was your night?"

She stopped the movement and walked closer to where Giles stood behind the register.

"I killed a giant crocodile, so…I win."

"My God," the Watcher disbelievingly whispered. "What happened?"

"Dawn ran out of the hospital, and I ran after her," Buffy shrugged. "Mom went, like…spacey, or something. It wasn't the first time. She acts like Dawn is a stranger."

"Yes, well," Giles affirmed quietly. "Having a tumor encroach upon the part of her mind that handles perception and reality-"

"But her tumor isn't magical, right? So why does it affect how she sees Dawn?"

"I-" he paused in his answer. "Well, I'm not sure, but…my guess would be that, the memories placed in us, all of us, by the Order of Dagon were mystical in nature, not physical. The tumor must sort of override the process. Something that the monks couldn't have ever foreseen."

Buffy shook her head, uninterested in delving further into her Watcher's hypothesis.

"Okay, anyway, Dawn ran out, and this huge crocodile… _thing_ came at us. Here's the weird thing, though: it stopped when it saw Dawn." Her mentor stood a little straighter behind the register. "I went to get a weapon and I hoped that it would follow me. But it focused in on _her_. It, like, sniffed the air, then stared at her a moment. Then its eyes glowed and it slithered back to where it came from."

"That is odd," Giles confirmed, stepping out from behind the register to head for the reading table. He stole a glance to the door, mostly out of habit. "Anya implied that those who summoned this creature, this _pet_ of Sobek, the Crocodile god in Egyptian folklore, had a massacre on their hands."

"I'm telling you, Giles, it saw Dawn and was no longer interested in eating either of us. I followed it-"

"You did _what_ , now?"

"I couldn't exactly let it run loose on Sunnydale! And then Angelus came out of nowhere-"

"Angelus?!"

"Can you _please_ let me finish? I can't stay here all day!"

The stupefied Watcher nodded contritely.

"I followed it, Angelus and I fought and killed it, and it was over," she impatiently summarized. When Giles went to speak, she stepped on his words. "And, before you ask, Angelus was just looking for something to kill, because he can't kill humans. Honestly? I don't think either of us would have survived against that thing solo. It was like fighting a tank with teeth."

Giles nodded, again, absentminded.

"When I mentioned that that crocodile monster was summoned, Angelus perked up waaaaaay too much at that little piece of information. He said that anything with the power to control something that big and bad…" she trailed off, leaving Giles to pick up the deeper meaning. "So, what can you tell me about the scary summoner? What are we dealing with? Warlock? Demon?"

Giles sputtered, trying to form the correct words. "It was just a girl. A young woman. About your age, maybe a few years older. She had blonde curly hair, and she was about your height, too, I believe."

Buffy scrunched her face in dismay. "Did you get her name?"

"No, I'm afraid it was a cash sale. Oh! But I did shortchange her." Buffy raised a brow at his pathetic attempt to balance the scales of good and evil. "Not on purpose, though…"

Buffy walked the short distance to the table and sat down across from the older man. She took a deep breath.

"What kind of person could summon that thing?"

"There is the possibility that she merely purchased the items for someone else."

"Ah…did she give off a lackey vibe?"

"A lackey vibe?" he shook his head in confusion. "I'm not sure what that's supposed to mean, but, from what I remember from our brief encounter, she was rather impatient. Quiet. I don't remember her saying anything after I wished her a good day."

"That chick in the leather dress? With the updo?" Buffy incredulously asked. Giles looked surprised at the accurate description, and he didn't deny the connection. "I remember her! She was _rude_. Definitely not minion material. But not exactly a Big Bad, either. Are you _sure_ it was her?"

"Yes," he bristled. "I'm quite sure." He identified a point in their conversation that he wanted to revisit. "You mentioned that the crocodile's eyes glowed when it saw Dawn?"

"Yep. It came toward us like it wanted to eat us, but then it, like, changed its mind."

"Anya mentioned it could be used like a dog. Either to protect or find something for its master."

"You think, maybe…it was _looking_ for Dawn?"

Both adults reached the same conclusion at once. And, just then, the bell on the front door rang and startled them out of their deep conversation.

The male customer took his time, analyzing every candle and amulet, in his search for a unique gift to give his lady friend. Giles patiently waited for the citizen to make his purchase, while Buffy stewed in her seat, glaring at the stranger. When he finally left, the two returned to their deductions.

"Okay," Buffy spoke first. "You need to tell me everything Anya told you."

Giles nodded in agreement. "I don't have that much more to contribute, from what I remember. Let's see…um, the creature is a nocturnal hunter, with excellent senses, and she was concerned about the amount of power it would take to be able to exert control over such a monster. A god's pet."

"So, whatever summoned this thing has power that scares a centuries-old vampire and a thousand-year old former vengeance demon," whispered the awe-struck girl. "I am officially scared."

"And," finished the Watcher, needing to say it out loud. "Given that the 'pet' it conjured honed in on the Key, it is reasonable to connect the summoner with the Beast that is after your sister."

"Glorificus," Buffy whispered even more tremulously.

"And, on that note, I heard back from the Council. They refuse to discuss anything over the phone, but they will meet with us in two days. A small delegation."

"Oh, goody," the Slayer sarcastically muttered.

The meeting concluded, with Buffy needing to return to the hospital to check on her mother, and Giles receiving a sudden influx of customers. Buffy walked through the room and found Joyce sipping juice from a disposable cup. When she entered, her mother looked up.

"Hey, Mom!" Buffy smiled warmly. "Feeling rested?"

But Joyce didn't return the smile, placing her cup on the nearby table and looking at her daughter seriously.

"I remember last night."

Buffy stopped in the entryway. Something in her mother's eyes unnerved her. She turned around and glanced quickly around the outside of the room. It was mostly bare, with only a couple of nurses in sight, both focused on their computer screens. Satisfied that they wouldn't be interrupted, Buffy made her way closer to Joyce's bedside. Her mother patiently waited for her daughter to be settled beside her.

"I remember looking at Dawn, but it was like I could also see through her," the frazzled woman explained, trying to make her thoughts understandable. "And memories flashed before my eyes. Do you remember when I took you to the Ice Capades? We got there early, and I bought you a souvenir t-shirt."

Buffy nodded.

"It was just you and me. The two of us. I think you were about ten or so?"

Buffy nodded, again. She was definitely ten, but she could only remember one version of this memory: her little sister sitting beside her, waving her sparkling souvenir wand in the arena.

"And as soon as the memory popped in my head, I suddenly felt this…push? It felt…unnatural. Dawn was there, little five-year-old Dawn, sitting with us and watching the show. I could feel my mind pushing back, trying to erase her. That's when I saw her, again, before me. And I had no idea who she was. It was like looking at a complete stranger, but scarier. It was more like…she was a ghost, or a phantom."

Buffy squirmed in her seat and did her best to look unaffected and calm.

"And then, I just knew." Joyce took a deep breath and stared into nothingness in front of her. "She wasn't my daughter. I only have one daughter." She looked directly at Buffy, then. "You."

The younger Summers took a deep breath, herself, and waited for a question to answer. It was most certainly coming.

"Who is she?"

"She's a gift." Joyce smiled at the unexpected word. Buffy continued, encouraged. "She was given to us, _made_ for us, to love. And to protect."

"Protect? Protect from what?"

Buffy paused, wondering how much to tell her mother. "She is…special. Unique. _Really_ unique. I'm still trying to work it all out with Giles-"

" _Giles_ knows? Who else?"

"Just Giles." _And Angelus._ "When I know more, I'll tell you, okay? But, for now, the most important thing is to keep this to ourselves. Dawn has no idea that she's anything other than a normal teenage girl."

It was Joyce's turn to nod her head like an automaton. "When I think back, now, on the Ice Capades, I can only see the three of us. I remember seeing it differently, but I can only picture it with Dawn, in my mind."

"That's the memory I have," Buffy moved from the chair to sit beside her mother on the hospital bed. "I remember Dad offering to take her to a movie, that day, so that it could just be the two of us. But she was such a brat! She begged to go! We had to change our seats, to sit together, and she wouldn't shut up until you bought her that light-up wand!"

The two ladies chuckled. When their light laughter subsided, Joyce sighed.

"But she wasn't really there?"

"She doesn't know that," Buffy reminded her mother. "I'm glad I have a sister. I can't imagine my life without her. Despite her still being a _huge_ brat."

Joyce smiled and hugged her daughter gently. "I love her, too. I love having two daughters. Especially with my eldest all grown up."

"And that's all that matters, I think. I love her. You love her. She is ours."

"Yes," the proud mother warmly concluded.

"Are you scared about tomorrow, Mom?"

"Of course I'm scared," she admitted. "I'm no Slayer," she added with a comical tone.

Buffy scoffed. "I'm not invincible."

"I know," Joyce spoke more solemnly. "I'm not scared about dying tomorrow. Not really. I suppose, given everything _you've_ faced, dying while unconscious on an operating table is about the easiest, most painless way to go, huh?"

The image conjured in Buffy's mind was too real. Too heartbreaking. Tears threatened to form, so she didn't respond to her mother's rhetorical question.

"I'm more worried that," Joyce continued, "if anything should go…wrong…I'm worried about what would happen with you and Dawn. I know you can take care of yourself, you brave girl. Can you take care of her? I know she's…different…but I can't imagine her being separated from you. Promise me that you'll do whatever it takes to stay together?"

"I don't want to talk like this, Mom-"

"Please, Buffy. Promise me. If you want me to feel better about tomorrow, please promise me that you and Dawn will be all right."

"Yeah," Buffy relented. "I promise."

She leaned further into her mother, her head cradled into Joyce's shoulder. Neither woman could see the face of the other, which made it easier for them to let silent tears fall down their cheeks. They fell asleep cuddled together, and the streaks of salty water dried into clear crust on their skin.

Eventually, their repose was interrupted by the head nurse's entry and evaluation. Buffy returned to the seat beside the bed and waited for the medical professional to leave the room.

"Remember," the male nurse gave a final instruction to Joyce, "nothing but water, after seven tonight, and no water after midnight. As soon as you're out of surgery and in recovery, you'll be given fluids in an IV until the general anesthesia is mostly out of your system." He smiled kindly. "Makes you nauseated."

"About how long will it take?" The patient asked the healthcare worker.

"Surgery?" he verified, and she nodded. "This type of procedure, usually three to five hours. I'd be surprised if it took five hours. You're in very good hands. Any other questions?"

Joyce gave a strained, tight-lipped smile and shrugged. "Nothing I can think of."

"Well, let me know. The best thing you can do to prepare is rest. Your body and your mind. A game of Sudoku can do wonders," he joked. "I'll check on you, again, before my shift is over."

When he was gone, Buffy relaxed. Joyce caught her eye and breathed deeply, as well.

"So," the matronly woman segued. "Bump into anything interesting during your patrols, lately?"

 _Now this, I can do_ , the Slayer grinned. "I met Dracula."

Another hour passed, with a lively conversation about the Dark Prince, Buffy's impressions, movie adaptations of his legendary self, and over-analyzation of every aspect of his meeting with the world-renowned Slayer of Sunnydale. Soon enough, Dawn was bounding into the room with a loud announcement.

"I aced my pre-algebra exam! Easy-peasy!"

The two adults greeted her with congratulatory remarks, and Joyce held out her arms to her youngest daughter. Dawn hesitated for a moment, but seeing the love in her mother's eyes gave her the confidence to enter the embrace.

"I love you so much, sweetie," Joyce kissed the top of Dawn's head, marveling at the realness of the miraculous girl in her arms. _She is ours_. "I'm so sorry…you've had to go through this."

"It's okay," the teen whispered back, her voice faltering with emotion. "I love you, too."

"How'd you get here?" Buffy asked her little sister.

Her mood lightened instantly. "Xander dropped me off!"

Buffy rolled her eyes at the annoying crush.

"The nurse dude told us Mom can't eat anything after seven, so we need to think about getting dinner in the next couple of hours. All those in favor of bringing in food from _outside_ the hospital, raise your hand!"

Three hands raised in sync. Buffy nodded and continued.

"Okie-dokie. What should we get? I can go pick up anything and bring it back."

"Chinese!" "Pizza!" The two other women called out simultaneously.

"Well, so much for it being easy," Buffy raised an eyebrow at her family. "Still, there's enough time. I can get both! And I'll run home and get us some more clothes. Sound like a plan?"

She rose from the chair and looked to her sister and mother. Dawn sat beside Joyce, no longer hugging, but enjoying each others' proximity.

"You don't have to stay tonight," their mother offered. "Go home, do some homework, get a good night's sleep, then come back in the morning."

"No way!" Dawn called out. "But can I have a turn with the TV remote? No more 'MacGyver' marathons, please."


	10. Triangulation

**Hello, readers!**

**I hit a bit of a wall with this story, recently. Sorry about the lack of posting. I know where the story ends, but getting there has been…tricky. It's mostly a timing issue. And a "how to write chipped Angelus" issue. I'm trying to have certain events align with the episode order of Season Five, with character arcs for our minor characters omitted. No Olaf the troll, no Spike or Drusilla, no Buffy Bot (no way Angelus would order such a thing into existence), no Knights of the Byzantium.**

**Eventually, I'll break through that wall, here, and I'll hit a stride.**

**Thank you for your patience, and I hope you are staying safe and healthy!**

**Jenn**

* * *

The surgery was, thankfully, "textbook"…as the head surgeon told Buffy and Dawn. The sisters were with their friends in the waiting room, and everyone was relieved to hear the good news. Joyce was still unconscious, and she would need to be under observation overnight, but she could return home with a clean bill of health in the morning.

Xander and Anya were seated, talking with Dawn, and discussing the pros and cons of playing board games in a public waiting room. Willow and Tara gave the sisters hugs, then returned to UC Sunnydale to attend their afternoon classes. Off to the side, Giles watched Dawn's animated conversation with the young couples, keenly understanding the weight of having a "Key" in their midst.

Buffy sat across from her sister and friends, an elated expression resting on her tired face. Giles walked over and tapped her on her shoulder, motioning for her to join him in the corner of the room. Luckily for them, the five bodies in this particular waiting room were all there to support Joyce.

Seeing her Watcher's serious expression, Buffy's expression sobered from elation to solemnity.

"What is it, Giles?"

"You and I need to go to the Magic Box, right now, while your mother is still in recovery," he quietly commanded.

"Why?"

"Tomorrow is the Council's visit, and we need to be sufficiently prepared for the hoops they will inevitably make us jump through." His face was grim, a direct result of knowing too well the tactics of the secretive group he had once worked for.

Dawn laughed especially loud at a joke of Xander's, and Buffy's attention switched over to her sister and friends.

"What about Dawn?" she questioned. "I can't just leave her here, unprotected. That crocodile…thing…attacked two nights ago! If we're right, and it was sent to find my sister, she needs to stay with _me_."

Giles, too, glanced over to the trio of happy youngsters and mulled over what to do.

"I suppose I could use Anya's help, while we discuss the impending visit," he reasoned. "Let's all reconvene at the Magic Box, your sister included. I'm sure she could use a break."

Buffy sighed. "She's already missing school today, so I guess bringing her along wouldn't be any more terrible than where we're at." A thought came into her head. "We can't tell them, yet, about the whole 'Key' thing. That still stays between us." _And my mom. And Angelus_. Being reminded of the vampire, she made a mental note to find him at dusk.

"I agree," Giles asserted, a little affronted by receiving an order from his charge.

The five left in separate vehicles, meeting up at the magic store. Anya practically skipped through the door, as Giles held it open for them all, twirling the sign from 'CLOSED' to 'OPEN' and then heading straight for the register. No customers were waiting on the sidewalk, so the door shut behind them and they took ownership of the space. Buffy directed Xander to watch Dawn complete the make-up work from her teachers. They both reluctantly sat at the main table, across from the register, to do just that. Giles asked Buffy to follow him into the training room for some exercises. They discreetly left the others, although the ruse went mostly unnoticed.

"What time do they arrive?" Buffy started off the conversation, once they were alone in the store's backroom.

"I have no idea," Giles honestly answered. "They have a penchant for doing things _exactly_ as they see fit without taking into consideration how they may be inconveniencing others."

"Yeah, I remember that," she drily muttered, thinking of her eighteen-year-old self fighting off the insane vampire, Kralik. That was the last time they had interacted with the Council. The meeting ended with her Watcher being fired and her threatening Quentin Travers, their leader, with bodily harm.

"So," she shook off the memories and adopted a bubblier tone. "Why do they have to cross the pond, or whatever, to give us information? Ever heard of a phone?"

Giles placed his hands in the pockets of his trousers and paced past Buffy, toward the center of the room.

"If I had to guess, I would say that they want to put us through the wringer, before giving us what we need."

Her forehead creased in evident confusion. "What? What does that mean?"

"We need information and they have it. They won't give anything to us without making sure they get what they want. Supply and demand."

She placed her hands on her hips and rolled her eyes. "Okay, so I took Introduction to Economics, so I get that whole supply and demand thing. But _what_ do they want?"

He shook his head. "I wish I knew. I just know that we need to be prepared for an onslaught. They wouldn't make the trip, if they didn't expect _much_ in return."

They focused on Buffy's skills, with Giles showing her no mercy and more criticism than he had ever given her. She took the harsh instruction, knowing that it came from a loving place, but she left the training room a sweaty and sore pile of bones.

"Dawn!" she called out breathlessly. "Come on. Gotta go!" She walked toward her little sister, panting, as Xander and the young teen looked up.

"Geez, Buffy," her high school friend spoke up. "You working out some big-time stress or is there something evil you're gearing up to fight?" He had no idea how close both of those guesses were. His own words made him remember the unresolved events, and he adopted a more serious tone. "Is it Angelus? Dracula?"

"Nope," she denied, holding out her hand to Dawn and then pulling her towards the exit. "Gotta go!"

"See ya!" the young brunette called out, too, as a quick farewell.

Back at the hospital, Joyce was groggy, but her vitals were solid and steady. Her breathing tube was removed, but her IVs and catheter were still helping her body to recover. She was already moved into a room in the ICU, and Dawn and Buffy were given the okay to stay overnight with their mother.

Buffy looked out the window, watching sunset come quickly on the horizon.

"I'm gonna go back home, get us some pjs and our pillows, and then I'll be back," she promised her sister. Joyce had her eyes on Buffy, but she didn't seem to be following what was being said. "You stay with Mom and go get yourself something from the cafeteria, okay?"

She handed Dawn a ten-dollar bill and headed out without waiting for an answer, grabbing her mom's car keys in the process. She carefully drove home, parking in the driveway and heading for her front door.

"Welcome home, Buff," a low voice silkily called out behind her. She spun around to find Angelus only three feet away from her on the cement walkway. She was losing her edge. "Where's the rest of the family?"

"Still at the hospital," she coolly shared. Angelus would find out anyway, there was no point in being unnecessarily deceptive. "We'll all be back tomorrow morning."

"So, we have the whole house to ourselves? Sounds like a good time. Show me how…domestic you can be, Slayer."

"Why are you out this early? It's barely twilight," she ignored what he'd said and steered the conversation to where she wanted it. "And how are you already here? Were you staying somewhere nearby?"

She turned back to the door, not caring if a vampire that couldn't hurt her was following her inside.

"Twilight, not daylight," he responded. She thought he sounded amused. "Not fatal just…annoying. And, yes, I stayed nearby."

Away from his line of sight, she rolled her eyes and continued to ignore him. The door opened and both entered. Buffy ran up the stairs and heard Angelus' footsteps close behind her own. She went to Dawn's room first, grabbing some sleepwear and the pillow. Walking into her room, she froze in the doorway and dropped the collected items in her hands.

"You slept in MY _ROOM_?!"

She distinctly remembered making her bed and cleaning her room the previous night, when stopping by the house to get clothes for herself and Dawn and dinner for all three of the Summers women. She hoped the gesture would make her mother happy, because Buffy was usually being nagged to clean her space in their home. Now, the covers were wrinkled, the blinds and curtains drawn, and there was an empty bottle of whiskey laying on the ground. Closer inspection showed that he had also rifled through most of her drawers and her closet. Looking for who knows what.

Buffy turned to face him, furiously glaring daggers into his smirking expression.

"Housesitting. Isn't that your stupid mortal term for it? You're welcome, by the way."

"I should have disinvited you…" she muttered, placing a hand on her forehead to fend away the oncoming headache.

"But you didn't," he pointed out. She started to refute him, but he continued talking over her. "And don't give me any lame excuses, Slayer. If you'd wanted to lock me out, you had plenty of opportunities to do it."

She clammed up and went back to her chore. She picked up the clothes and pillow she'd dropped, grabbed her own pillow from her bed, and chose clean pajamas for herself. Angelus followed behind her, watching and not commenting or helping, as she placed the items in the car. Needing something to stop her rumbling stomach, she reluctantly went back inside to pour herself a bowl of cereal. Angelus went into the living room and lay on the sofa, propping up his feet on her mother's pristine couch.

When she finished the simple dinner, she cleaned up after herself and charged into the living room to confront the vampire.

"Alright, squatter, time to get out. NOW!"

Angelus closed his eyes and placed his hands behind his neck, confidently staying put. "But I _like_ it here, Buff. I'm no tomb-dweller. Spike and Dru would've been fine holing up in a crypt, but not me."

"You've been _holed up_ somewhere during the past few months, after escaping the Initiative. Don't give me that crap."

He opened his eyes and narrowed them at her. "And don't act like you don't _want_ me in your bed."

"I _will_ stake you," she threatened.

He scoffed in response, but he stood to tower over her. "I seriously doubt it. If you couldn't do it two years ago, what makes you think you can do it now?" The vampire stared deeply into her eyes, challenging her to answer.

"I don't have time for this," she answered dismissively. "I need to get back to the hospital. You need to leave."

She moved to walk around him, but he blocked her path.

"Tell your Watcher about the croc we killed?"

Buffy hesitated. _Need to tread carefully. I feel like all I do is keep secrets, nowadays…_

"Yes," she said.

"You mentioned it was summoned," he tilted his head. "Figure out who or what did it?"

"Why do you care?"

"Me, Dracula, something that's powerful enough to both summon and control baby Godzilla…that's a lot. Even for the Hellmouth," he muttered. "I'd like to know if I need to be worried about my survival. Any new apocalypses on the horizon, Slayer?"

"It's not like that creature was after _you_ ," Buffy rolled her eyes melodramatically.

Angelus perked up at her odd statement. "Not after me? What was it after?"

Buffy stiffened and attempted to change the subject. "Do you think Dracula is still in Sunnydale?"

"Probably," he smirked at her obvious attempt to distract him away from his questions. "It hasn't even been a week, yet. But as long as he stays away from _you_ and you stay away from _him,_ I really don't care where he is."

"If he's here, why haven't I heard anything? What's he up to?"

The vampire shrugged. "Who cares?"

"I do! I'm the Slayer! One of my friends went after him-" she cut herself off abruptly, having said too much.

Angelus simply looked amused at the thought of someone else besides Buffy going after the legendary vampire. "Really? You sent one of your little minions to do your dirty work? Doesn't seem like you, Buff."

She shook her head emphatically, her eyes narrowed to angry slits. "No!" she countered. "No, I didn't _send_ anyone. And stop calling them minions. Ms. Calendar is with her people, trying to curse Dracula with…" She trailed off, remembering who she was talking to.

"With?" Angelus prompted her. But his expression darkened with seconds. "With his soul." He let out a low growl that seemed to vibrate throughout his body.

Buffy stood a little straighter.

"So what if they are?" she affirmed. "He deserves to be punished, for everything he's done. Ms. Calendar says he killed her people for centuries."

"NO vampire deserves that," he protested, his voice rising in volume. He suddenly looked panicked, swearing under his breath. "Do those gypsies know I'm here?"

"No," the Slayer cautiously replied. "At least, I don't think so. As far as I know, Giles hasn't talked to her-"

"If they come after me, next, I promise you-"

"You'll what? Run away? You can't hurt anyone, anymore. And, if you thought you could force some of _your_ minions to kill them all, you'd just do it and not tell me."

He moved closer to her and grabbed her by the back of the neck. She resisted, but she didn't fight back.

"I would rather be staked, than go through that, again." He kissed her fiercely, and she pushed on his chest with both of her hands. When he pulled away, he grinned because her eyes were hooded. She'd enjoyed it, although she would never admit it. "And you'll agree with me, if you know what's good for you."

Her eyes were fully open, now, staring up at him distrustfully. "What does that mean?"

He let her go and went to step past her, toward the front door. "You can't be with… _him_ ," he snarled out the last word. "You know that. And, deep down, you know you don't want to be." He held the door open and called out once more. "You belong to _me_ , Slayer."

With that, he dashed out into the night, leaving the door open behind him. She went to close it, and saw nothing but the peaceful darkness of her suburban street. Taking the time to, once again, clean up her room, she finished and left her dwelling, wondering if he would come back after she left the premises.

Back at the hospital, Buffy, Dawn, and Joyce settled into their final night in the sterile room, relieved to be returning to normalcy the next morning. Buffy's thoughts were not on the meeting with the Council the next day…she could only worry about what Angelus had brought to the surface.

If Jenny knew Angelus was back…

If her people knew that another soulless enemy of theirs was nearby…

After they finished with Dracula, would Angelus be next? And, why did the thought of them bringing back her first love scare her? Wouldn't that be a good thing?

She heard her mother's deep breathing and her sister's snoring in the darkened room. Everything was quiet, except for the barrage of questions assaulting her mind. And she couldn't fall asleep.

Across town, Giles looked at the clock next to his bed. He sighed and picked up his cell phone. For the thirtieth time in the past four hours. He thought about rebooting it. Maybe he wasn't receiving messages.

He called her, again.

One ring. Two. Three.

And then the other side of the line picked up.

"Hello?"

He let out a sigh of relief through the phone and sat up in his bed.

"Jenny!"

"Rupert?"

"Where have you been? I know you had to leave quickly, but you haven't been answering any of my calls. Are you okay?"

"I'm…fine," she sighed through the pause, as well. "My uncle brought the Ritual of Restoration texts with him, but it's all in the old language. It's like reading hieroglyphics without any idea what the symbols stand for. We've all been working together, no distractions, to figure out the proper translation."

"No one passed down the language?" he asked skeptically. For a people steeped in tradition, he found it odd that they weren't prepared to dole out soul restoration on a whim.

"It's a difficult, multi-faceted language. The incantation is only useful if you know the correct intonation and cadence. But, I think we finally have it. I've rehearsed it over and over," she explained, and Giles could hear the exhaustion in her voice.

Angelus popped up in his mind, at that moment, and he weighed the benefits of telling her that the evil vampire was back in Sunnydale, as well. _It can wait until she gets back_ , he reasoned. _I shouldn't add anything to her plate._

"How much longer, until you're done, do you think?"

She sighed, again. "Um, not sure. We have to locate him, Dracula, first. We've had people looking for him. One of my cousins hasn't come back…"

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Jenny."

"It was just last night. He might be okay… But, anyway, Dracula has to be within a certain radius, for the spell to work. So, we need a definite location on him, and then we need to coordinate our attack. Hopefully, this'll all be over in a few days. Maybe a week, tops?"

"Please be careful."

"I told you I would be, Rupert," she gently chided him. He could tell she was smiling. "What's new with you? I haven't heard any of your messages, sorry. My uncle is quite strict, when it comes to our customs. Everything okay there? Has Buffy seen Dracula, by any chance?"

He thought about sharing everything with her. _Buffy's little sister is some sort of materialized interdimensional entity…oh, and there's a horrifically powerful being that is summoning monsters we had no idea existed…also, Angelus has returned, but he was implanted with a microchip in his brain that limits his ability to harm humans…_

"No, I don't believe she has seen Dracula since that first night. I'm sure she would've mentioned it." _Eventually,_ he bitterly added to himself.

"Okay," she replied. She let out a yawn that Giles heard. Biologically programmed, he returned the tired gesture. Jenny giggled. "I'm falling asleep and so are you. I'll try to call you tomorrow, but I can't make any promises."

"I understand. I'm just glad to hear…your voice," he finished lamely. "I love you."

"I love you, too, Rupert. Good night."

"Good night, Jenny."


	11. Checkmate

Buffy was tired, sleeping on and off the entire night in the hospital room. Her mother on the other hand, awoke bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. The groggy Slayer let her sleepy gaze span the room, then she jolted up on the reclining chair she'd slept on.

"Where's Dawn?!"

Joyce looked at her panicked daughter and gave her a reassuring smile.

"Good morning to you, too," she said with an eye-roll. "Your sister left about an hour ago to go get ready for school at home."

"Who came to pick her up?"

"Janice's mom. We worked everything out last night, while you were gone," Joyce gave Buffy a light head shake.

"You still…remember…everything that we talked about? About Dawn?" the daughter cautiously asked.

Her mother's expression became more somber, and she nodded. "Yes. Do you know anything more about where she came from or why she needs to be protected?"

"Not really," Buffy lied.

A knock on the door frame redirected their attention. They looked over and saw a familiar face.

"Good morning, ladies," Ben cordially greeted them. "Ms. Summers, are you ready for your final exam, before being discharged?"

" _More_ _than_ ready," the older woman emphasized.

The medical intern lightly removed a portion of the bandage covering the surgical entry. He redressed the sensitive skin, then had the patient run a couple of exercises to test her ocular and speech abilities.

"No fever, good vitals," he ticked through the items on the chart. "The incision and surrounding area look normal. Make sure that you are keeping the wound clean, no showering without a cap, and we'll give you the instructions and materials for how to redress and protect the area. We'll follow up in two weeks. Would you like to make the appointment now, or would you like for someone to call you later today to schedule it?"

"I'd rather go home immediately and have someone call me about it," the weary woman said. Buffy sat quietly in the chair, allowing the professional to do his job.

"I understand," Ben nodded. "Well, we have a prescription for some pain medication already called into the pharmacy you had on file. You can pick that up today, and I would recommend doing so immediately. Once the IV is removed, the medication in your system will start to wear off, and you don't want to be unprepared for a sudden rush of pain."

"I'll get my mom settled, and then go pick it up for her," Buffy finally spoke up.

Ben gave her a huge smile of appreciation and she blushed at the gesture. Joyce looked back and forth between the two of them.

"You know," she started slowly, "you've been _so_ wonderful and patient with us throughout our time here. I'd love to have you come eat a home-cooked meal with us, sometime."

Buffy glared daggers at her mother, and it was Ben's turn to blush.

"Sounds like a good time," he safely answered. "I'll have to check my schedule. But, until then, please take it easy. Lots of rest, healthy eating, medicate as needed, and enjoy being pampered by your daughters." He winked at Buffy, amused by her obvious embarrassment.

The rest of the morning sped by, with a nurse coming by to remove the IVs and various monitors. They left the hospital, with Buffy wearing last night's clothes and carrying all of their personal belongings to the car. Joyce was escorted in a wheelchair, until they were outside, at which point the patient was deposited onto a bench. Buffy hurried to the car, threw everything in and picked up her mother.

At home, Buffy gently guided her mother to her bedroom. On the way, Joyce glanced at her daughter's room.

"Oh, Buffy! You cleaned up! It looks wonderful, dear, thank you."

The young woman didn't say anything back. Nor did she pay attention to her room as they passed.

Once Joyce was settled, Buffy ran the quick errand to pick up the prescription. When she returned, she collapsed onto her made bed, excited at the prospect of taking a nap in her own room.

The phone rang before Buffy had a chance to sink into the mattress.

She groaned and ran toward the nearest landline, not wishing her mother to be disturbed.

"Hello?"

"Buffy?" Giles' harried voice questioned on the other end of the line. "It's _time._ "

"Time?" Buffy repeated, then yawned into the receiver. "Time for what?"

"The Council is _here,_ " he responded succinctly. Firmly. "I need you to come to the Magic Box immediately." He paused for a beat, then lowered his voice to barely above a whisper. "The sooner we begin, the sooner we're done." He took a breath and spoke at his normal volume. "I will see you momentarily. Don't dawdle."

The receiver disconnected with an ominous click. Buffy groaned and hung up the landline.

She grabbed her mother's pain meds and a glass of water, then headed upstairs. Joyce was sitting up in bed, reading glasses on, and skimming the pages of a novel she'd read many times before. Buffy set the water and the pills on her mother's nightstand.

"I have to go," she explained, sheepishly. "Sorry, it's Slayer stuff. I'll try to be home before Dawn gets back. Are you going to be okay? Can I get you anything before I leave?"

"I'll be fine," Joyce smiled. "I'm not hungry. I think I might rest, after I read for a bit. Tell Mr. Giles that I said not to keep you too late."

"Will do!" Buffy cheerfully called out, as she left the room.

She went straight to her room, needing to change clothes into something more suitable. It felt like an interview. She recalled how intimidated she'd been, the last time she'd interacted with Quentin Travers. He expected her to be a hardened Slayer. Someone who took the calling extremely seriously.

Buffy decided on black leggings and a red tank top. A pair of comfortable sneakers and a black zippered hoodie completed the outfit. She braided her hair and ran out of the house, grabbing the keys to her mom's car on the way out the door.

She gave herself a mental pat on the back, for having left in record time.

The Magic Box's front entrance showed that it was "closed," according to the flipped sign, and a note of apology accompanied it.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

Please return tomorrow, when we shall resume normal business hours.

Thank you,

Management

The door was still unlocked, and Buffy opened it and stepped through…and was met by a grouping of disapproving faces.

Giles leaned against the counter that held the register, his arms folded, and looking less than pleased. He gave Buffy a tight-lipped smile to serve as a greeting.

"Buffy, you remember Mr. Travers?"

The older man stood from his seat at the round table in the middle of the store. The rest of the Council members, six of them, all watched Buffy with varying levels of interest.

"Hello, again, Miss Summers," Mr. Travers formally acknowledged her.

Buffy gave a single nod but didn't say anything.

Quentin seemed irked that she wasn't willing to exchange pleasantries, so he pressed on with a more guarded attitude.

"Rupert reached out to us, as I'm sure he's already told you, and inquired as to what knowledge we held about the being known as Glorificus. What we know is confidential. Only the highest clearance in the Watcher's Council is privy to such sensitive and classified information." He walked away from his colleagues and headed toward Buffy, stopping mere feet away from her.

_He's trying to intimidate me, again,_ she realized, reading his body language. _He's showing me he has no fear of me. Well, I'm not the eighteen-year-old he held power over two years ago._

"Before we're willing to divulge what, exactly, we know, we need to have certain…assurances," he said with a leveled gaze. "You've operated without supervision-" She looked at Giles and then back at Mr. Travers, who adjusted his phraseology. " _Legitimate_ supervision, that is, for the past two years. We've monitored the various events that have arisen on the Hellmouth." He walked past Buffy and looked out the window of the store. Buffy kept her back to him.

"The Ascension of your little town's mayor, the secretive government facility that sought to make you obsolete…" he chuckled under his breath. "And, although we didn't necessarily approve of your methods, we will concede that your tactics, ultimately, had desirable outcomes."

Buffy rolled her eyes at the long-winded speech. "What do you want from me, then?"

He turned on his heel and headed back to his original spot.

"Glorificus is unlike anything you have ever faced," he warned her. "We cannot tell you what we know, if we are worried about what you will do with the information. And you cannot hope to best the Beast, if you try to fight it without us."

The Slayer looked to her Watcher, who looked grim. He stared at the floor, as if he wanted to sink through the tile and hide in his basement.

"Okay, so…" Buffy cautiously started. "Where do we start? I can't stay for too long. My mom was just released from the hospital, and my sister will be home by about 3:30."

"Yes, your former Watcher apprised us of your current home life situation," the head of the Council said with little sympathy. "But trust me when I say that, if Glorificus is anywhere on your radar, you must put aside your personal issues and realize that _this_ could be the greatest threat to our world that has _ever_ surfaced."

Buffy took a deep breath. She was almost used to hearing about end-of-the-world types of disasters, at this point. It reminded her of a line from the movie _Men in Black:_ "There's always…an intergalactic plague that is about to wipe out all life on this miserable little planet, and the only way these people can get on with their happy lives is that they DO NOT KNOW ABOUT IT!"

How was this particular apocalypse different than any of the others she'd already faced?

"Two years without proper, _authorized_ instruction," Quentin stressed, giving a side-eye to Giles. "We need to see how much you've fallen behind. You'll start with occult expertise, to be assessed by oral examination. Lydia? If you'd please."

The sole woman of the group, a thin blonde in her forties with her hair in a secured updo and thick-rimmed glasses, stepped forward.

"Miss Summers," she addressed Buffy with a calm, matronly voice. "Please follow me."

Buffy gulped and followed, seeing no way out of the impromptu testing.

Lydia led her to the training room, where a small folding table and two chairs were waiting. Both women sat facing each other. The British proctor held a clipboard in her left hand and a pen in her right.

"Let's start with an easy one, shall we?"

Buffy nodded. _Maybe they'll all be easy?_

"Right." The woman read directly off her clipboard. "What type of crystal, when placed on a sigil of Dothrax, will temporarily blind a Trolgnatti demon?"

Buffy's face paled.

"Um… a clear one?" Lydia pursed her lips. Buffy's heart flipped. "No, wait…um…the pink kind?"

The Council representative wrote something on the clipboard, with an eyebrow raised in incredulity.

"Let's move on," the older woman suggested. "When fighting a Fyarl demon, what type of weapon must be used to execute it?"

_Fyarl demon…that sounds familiar, actually,_ Buffy paused. _Giles! Ethan turned him into one of those things! What was I supposed to use..._

"Oh! Silver!"

Lydia didn't give any indication that the answer was correct, which only served to make Buffy more nervous. More notes on the clipboard.

"When discovering a nest of Plabian hatchlings, what is proper protocol?"

Buffy's heart sank, again. "Nest of what?" she whispered.

An hour later, the two ladies emerged from the back room. Lydia sent a look to Quentin that let Giles know that his charge had not impressed on the oral exam. He glanced at Buffy, who looked utterly dejected.

"And, now, Miss Summers, we'll go over your tactical and weaponry capabilities. But," Quentin stopped her en route back to the training room, "before we do that, I need a contact list of everyone in your circle that knows you are a Slayer."

Buffy snapped to attention. "Why?" she asked, full of suspicion.

"Because, due to your, _intentional_ breaking of tradition," he said the words with disdain, "the very civilians we are trying to keep safe are now regularly used in your operations." He looked pointedly at Buffy. "Your entire graduating class arming themselves against the forces of evil, for one."

"I didn't have much of a choice," Buffy muttered.

"You would have," he cocked an eyebrow at her, "if you had been aligned with the Council. We are the backbone of the operation. The foundation. Shunning _us_ and our immense resources only made your job harder."

"So, what," the young woman called out, "you want the names of Sunnydale High's Class of '99? I can lend you my yearbook. No idea where most of them are now, though…it's been two years."

"That's obviously not what I meant," he said with a new layer of contempt. "Only your closest associates. The ones who are regularly involved in what should solely be Slayer business."

Buffy bit her lip, still anxious about giving her friends' information without their consent. To the nosiest bunch of elitists she'd ever known.

"But _why_ do you need to talk to them, though?"

"Because we know you'll share our knowledge with them. You treat them as teammates, instead of the children that they are. They must be deemed equally trustworthy."

_Crap, that makes sense._ A thought occurred to her, and she clung to it. She took the paper and pen provided to her and wrote Xander and Willow's names and telephone numbers upon it. She handed it back to one of the Council members, the youngest among them, a man with a darker complexion who looked to be in his early thirties.

"Just these two people, then," the unnamed man questioned, "this Xander Harris and Willow Rosenberg?"

"And their significant others," Buffy reluctantly added.

"Their names, please," the man pressed.

She sighed. "Anya and Tara. You can talk to them at the same time you contact Xander and Willow."

"And what of your family?"

She automatically held the intake of breath. "My family?"

"Yes," he continued. "You've not been especially careful to hide your abilities from the population of Sunnydale. I assume your family knows about your being the Slayer, as well?"

"My father doesn't know anything," Buffy cautiously shared. "He and my mom split just after I became the Slayer. Before I told my mom. We still haven't told him. Not sure we ever will…he's not really a part of my life anymore," she trailed off. Not one of the Watchers, save for Giles, spared her a sympathetic look.

"My mom and sister know what I do and that I go out patrolling. But they don't come to any of our meetings, or hear _any_ Slayer business."

"Meetings?" the low-ranking Watcher repeated.

Buffy ignored the question for clarification and finished her thought. "My mom just had a major brain surgery, and my sister is in middle school. You don't need to involve either of them in this," she finished firmly.

"You have a sister?" Quentin spoke up. "We don't have that on file." He looked to Giles, who sat up and cleared his throat.

"Um, she was so young, when I first met her," Giles explained. "I didn't think it necessary to include her in my initial reports. After a while, I suppose I assumed I had divulged that information sometime within all of my correspondence to you."

"Every dynamic of a Slayer's family is crucial data," Travers said with dubious eyes. "You knew it then, and you know it now, Rupert. It's not like you to disrespect our methods."

"Had I not been so unceremoniously ejected from the Council, I would have rectified that error," the former Watcher dryly stated.

"Careful, Rupert," the stout leader warned.

Buffy watched the power struggle between the men, expecting to see a shrewder side of Giles emerge…Ripper. But her unofficial Watcher immediately backed down, once more staring at the ground of his shop.

Mr. Travers redirected his attention to Buffy. "While the rest of my colleagues track down and interview your little group of friends, Philip and I will administer the physical test of your prowess as a Slayer. Rupert, you are free to join us, as well. But, before you do, please print out an inventory list for Lydia to go through. Lydia, please catalog any questionable items that are available for purchase in this quaint…shop."

Giles moved first, surprisingly, walking past Buffy with Lydia trailing behind him and heading down into the basement of the store. Quentin nodded to the Slayer, then walked toward the back of the store. Buffy reluctantly followed, and she heard footsteps behind her that had to belong to whichever Council member was named Philip.

Back in the training room, Quentin took the chair Lydia had used earlier, moving the seat to the edge of the room and sitting. Philip, a tall, fit man with gray hair and cold eyes stood in the center of the room and began to put on the padded armor Giles usually used for her training sessions.

"Philip will be attacking you with various styles," Quentin informed her. "And, although he doesn't possess the power of a demon, I think you'll find his abilities far greater than that of Rupert's."

Still putting on pads, Philip pulled a black cloth from his pocket and handed it to Buffy.

"You will be blindfolded," Quentin continued, "limiting your range of efficiency, and you'll be answering my questions throughout the exercise. Do you have any questions, before we begin?"

Buffy smirked. "If I knock him out, do I get extra credit?"

"Philip may not have the strength of a demon, but he'll be harder to best than Rupert," he answered her matter-of-factly. "And, regardless of your performance, you'll be done when I _say_ you are done. Now, let's begin."

She frowned and obediently placed the blindfold over her eyes, tying it securely behind her head.

Hours passed in Sunnydale. The Slayer fought against the Council member who showed her no mercy. He used different weapons and fighting styles, not pausing to let her catch her breath or reorient herself within the room. Quentin fired question after question at her, making her retell and second-guess previous battles with various Hellmouth spawn.

Anya and Xander were contacted, then interviewed by two of the Council members. Anya did her best to create a convincing backstory, while Xander did his best to not stick his foot in his mouth. Both finished the odd interaction feeling miserable and worried that they had failed to impress.

Willow and Tara were skeptical about the process, and an additional phone call from Giles was needed to let them know the legitimacy of the Watchers' demands to speak to them in person. Both were nervous. Tara saw Willow's fear: not wanting to do anything to bring more trouble or complication to Buffy's already troubled and complicated life. She reached out to take her redheaded girlfriend by the hand and sent her an encouraging smile.

Eventually, the Council convened to make whatever final judgment was coming. The Scoobies met at the shop, awaiting an answer and speaking in hushed tones. Willow, Tara, and Anya sat at the round table. Xander paced, and Buffy and Giles leaned against the display case next to the register.

"What was all that about, Buffy?" the younger man asked. Xander stopped his agitated pacing and stared accusingly at his friend.

Buffy looked to her Watcher. Giles returned her stare with a pointed look. She knew he wanted her to share everything…but now was not the time nor the place. It was dark outside. She wondered where Angelus was. A stray thought. A deep breath.

"I can't explain every little detail of what's going on," she started. Xander threw his hands up in the air in frustration. "Not while the Council's here, anyway. I don't trust them. Not like I trust all of you…"

Four sets of eyes narrowed at her in disbelief. Buffy gulped helplessly.

"Is this about Dracula, again?" Anya wondered aloud. "Or Angelus?"

"Angelus?" Willow interjected. "What about him?" Buffy hesitated to answer, and that gave the young witch enough of an indication to keep going. "He's _here?_ He's _back?_ " She glared across the table to the perky blonde ex-demon. "YOU knew? Xander?"

Xander nodded unapologetically. "Yeah, we saw him. Friday night, was it?" Anya nodded, too, in solidarity.

"It's neither of them," Buffy spoke up. Everyone looked at her with surprise. Except for Giles, who was strangely calm. "It's…something else. I had a…vision. It's something known as 'the Beast,' or 'Glorificus.' Anya, have you heard of something that goes by that name?"

"Glorificus? No. The Beast? Well, yes. I mean, that's a pretty common nickname in the demon community. It's simple, catchy. Easy to spell and remember. Easier than Glorificus. Or Maledírno, or Brögnarn, or Clebtomuphet, or-"

"Thank you, Anya," Giles finally interrupted. "We get your point."

"So, what," Willow continued on her original point. "There's a _third_ bad guy we have to worry about?" Her eyes widened, then. "Are they all working together?"

"No," Buffy firmly asserted. "No, they're all separate. Ms. Calendar is with her family, trying to restore Dracula's soul, Angelus isn't a problem, and the Beast needs to be our main concern."

"Excuse me?" Xander addressed Buffy. "Did I just hear you say 'Angelus _isn't_ a problem'? When is he NOT a problem?! He was at your _house_ – wait – did you see him? Have you seen him?"

"Yes," she snapped back, "I've talked with him, and trust me, he's scared of whatever this 'Beast' is, too."

"What do you mean you've _talked-"_

"That's not what's important, right now, Xander," Giles stopped him midsentence. "Buffy's right. She can't reveal everything until after the Council leaves."

"And why couldn't we get a warning about them coming? Huh?"

The Englishman removed his glasses and stared at them, so that he didn't have to look into anyone's eyes. "Honestly," he admitted, "I didn't think they'd be _this_ demanding. Especially when it came to the four of you. As for me, I had to play their game from the beginning." He perched the glasses back onto his face and gave the room a frown. "They threatened to have me deported, if I didn't."

"Giles," Buffy called softly to him, while placing a hand on his shoulder. "I wish you would've told me."

"There was no time."

At that moment, the group was interrupted by the sound of the bell at the Magic Box door. The group of Watchers descended upon them, and everyone fell respectfully quiet. Quentin led the pack, stopping at the center of the room, with the other members in a half-circle behind him.

"We are worried that you, _all_ of you," he said with a sweeping glance to Buffy and her friends, "are woefully unequipped to handle what's coming." He leveled his gaze at Buffy, then. "You are, among the history of Slayers, the most unorthodox and disorganized girl who has ever carried this mantle. We will rectify your hindered training, along with providing you adequate supervision-"

"Stop," Buffy interrupted. Firmly. Mr. Travers gave her an incredulous look, and started to open his mouth. "NO," Buffy followed up, effectively silencing the old man. "I'm NOT a 'girl,' I'm a _woman_. You do remember my eighteenth birthday, right?"

Quentin cocked an eyebrow at her, feigning boredom. A couple of his colleagues, however, swallowed uncomfortably.

"You fired my Watcher, I basically quit following your orders, and for the past two years, I've handled EVERYTHING the Hellmouth has thrown at me." She walked to face Travers, then, standing tall, even with her shorter stature, and placed her hands on her hips. "It may not have been 'your way' of handling things, but look around you," she gestured with her arms, with theatrical energy. "We're still here. Sunnydale is still here. The Hellmouth is closed. And who keeps it closed? US."

She didn't see the reactions of her friends, but if she had, she would've seen them start to smile and stand a little straighter with pride.

"I have a brilliant Watcher, official or not, who balances my training with giving me enough free-reign to come up with my own ideas on how to solve the problem." Buffy narrowed her eyes and scanned each of the conceited Council members. "I know I've already surpassed the lifespan of the typical Slayer…haven't I?" The question was rhetorical, and no one looked ready to give her a conflicting answer.

"I have two very talented witches, who, on more than one occasion, have been crucial to the success of my mission."

Tara looked to Willow, sitting next to her, and squeezed her hand under the table. The redhead smiled at her girlfriend, but shook her head lovingly when Tara mouthed, "all you."

"I have a man who has fought bravely at my side since my first day in Sunnydale, who is the heart of this operation and is still standing because of his natural instincts."

Xander looked at the three ladies seated at the table beside him. All of them beamed back at him, and his chest swelled immediately at the adoration.

"I have a former vengeance demon on my team, who has a thousand years of experience and knowledge to contribute."

Most of the Council members looked with alarm at Anya. She smiled nervously.

"I really wasn't all that bad," the perky blonde called out from her seat. "Compared to some of the others in our guild…" she trailed off.

"A vengeance demon, a vampire with a _soul_ ," Quentin listed, without paying attention to Anya. Buffy's jaw clenched at the reference to Angel. "Even your alliances are questionable."

"If it weren't for Anya, we wouldn't have made the connection from Glorificus to the monster she summoned," Buffy snapped, without thinking of the can of worms it opened up.

Quentin and everyone else in the room, save Giles, reacted with confusion at Buffy's words. Before anyone else could speak up, the Slayer plowed through.

"Yes, we have some new information," Buffy admitted. "And _you_ have information _we_ need, Mr. Travers."

The leader of the Council tilted his chin up.

"So," she lowered her voice. "Can we stop pretending that you're here to test our worthiness? Faith is MIA, and I'm the only Slayer you've _got_. All of us are on the same team, but _we're_ the ones-" she swept a hand toward her friends without taking her eyes off Quentin - "with our _necks_ on the line." She narrowed her eyes and took her time to stare down each Watcher behind the older leader. "You will reinstate Mr. Giles, we will exchange information, and then you ALL will return to the safety of England, where you can pat yourselves on the backs and take the credit for me and my _team_ facing and defeating the dangers of the Hellmouth."

Quentin sighed and looked over at Giles, who returned his gaze with a shrewd countenance. The eldest Watcher once again met the Slayer's eye.

"I will honor your request to have Rupert remain here, as your official Watcher," he nodded slowly. "As for the rest of your little speech, I have this to say about your conclusions: you are still overestimating the abilities of your _team_ and underestimating the support that the Watchers' Council is able to offer. This is not supposed to be an antagonistic relationship, Slayer. We are your greatest help and allies, in the fight against evil."

"Then ACT like it, Mr. Travers!" Buffy pleaded sincerely and firmly. "I'm up against something that I'm _terrified_ of. That a former vengeance demon and a vampire are _also_ terrified of. Can we _please_ stop with the interrogations and start sharing what we know?"

Quentin leveled his eyes to Buffy, looking at her frankly and without judgment. He gave her a smile kinder than one she'd ever seen from the usually pompous man.

"Your request is reasonable. I would prefer to repair the broken lines of communication between us, Miss Summers," he optimistically stated. "I suppose, as a gesture of goodwill, I should start the process?"

Buffy crossed her arms and smiled tightly back at the man. She'd spoken enough, and now she waited on Quentin Travers to speak.

"Glorificus, also known as The Abomination or The Beast, is no mere demon. _She_ …is a goddess."

Buffy's mouth dropped.


	12. Ties that Bind

**Hello, readers!**

**It took me waaaaay too long to complete this chapter, because I realized I had a major inconsistency that I had to fix, before moving on. And it required rereading almost EVERY CHAPTER to figure out where I had made the error and how many times I had done so. I swear, I outline every story, even keeping a timeline of events. If I had a beta, I'm sure they would've caught the mistake chapters ago. *facepalm* And, no, I won't be sharing what it was.**

**SO…MUCH…DIALOGUE…**

**Happy reading!**

**Jenn**

* * *

"A goddess?" Buffy echoed to Quentin Travers, in flat disbelief. "Like out of those Greek myths?"

"I'm afraid not," the eldest Council member in the Magic Box quietly rebutted. "Glorificus is from another dimension, a universe that is, we've been told, a hellscape beyond what our imaginations can comprehend."

Buffy was still too perplexed to absorb the gravity of his words.

" _Who_ told you?" she asked point-blank.

"About twenty years ago, we were contacted by a group of monks that called themselves the Order of Dagon. They were from Czechoslovakia, and they shared that they had formed for one purpose: to protect our dimension from the forces of evil outside of this realm."

The Council members listened silently, showing no outward indications of fear or amazement. All of the Sunnydale residents in the room were stricken dumb, eyes wide and mouths agape.

"The Order of Dagon, in their meditation and communion, received revelation that a hell beast by the name of Glorificus would be banished from her realm and placed within the body of a human. Ideally, it would be a death sentence. The Beast would remain dormant within its host, and, when the mortal body died, Glorificus would also cease to be. They warned us, trusting in our network of supernatural knowledge, to be on the alert for any sign of the Beast, as the time foretold for her imprisonment drew near."

Quentin paused, less for dramatic effect and more to allow for the rest of the room to mentally catch up in the conversation.

"Your _vision_ , Miss Summers, was, understandably, extremely alarming. It prompted our traveling halfway around the world to find out how legitimate your claim was. Perhaps, if you could tell us what your demon…friend discovered?"

"Former demon!" Anya called out in vain. "Also, what are you talking about?"

Buffy smiled at the ingenuous question. The seriousness of the matter was temporarily dispelled.

"Anya was here, at the Magic Box, when some woman came in to buy…something," the Slayer carefully shared. "We think she, or someone she was working for, was the one who summoned…" The young woman glanced back at the former vengeance demon, hoping for her to fill-in the missing information.

Anya smiled cluelessly, as the pause dragged on.

"Summoned…what, exactly?" Quentin pressed.

The added time was apparently what Anya needed to process her place in the story.

"Oh! Ah, yes, that was me. Not me that was summoned obviously," she stuttered through nervously. "I don't do that, anymore. And I didn't sell the woman the Sobekiam Bloodstone with a Kohl's Amulet, either, because, duh! Horrible idea." Still behind the register, Giles pursed his lips in a tight, thin line. "Not that Giles knew it would lead to the summoning of the pet of Sobek-"

"Sobek," one of the Watchers, Philip, spoke up from behind Quentin. "As in the Egyptian God of the Nile?"

"Yep," Buffy nodded. "Think giant crocodile monster."

For everyone except Giles, it was new information.

"How can you be sure that it was Glorificus that was responsible behind the summoning?" Mr. Travers asked suspiciously.

Buffy shared a furtive glance with her Watcher and then confidently looked the head of the Council in the eye.

"Two reasons: One," she explained, "according to Anya, the ritual is too hard for the average person or demon to complete. Only something scary powerful could control that monster." In her seat, Anya nodded in agreement. "And, two, that thing could have headed for downtown and eaten people right and left…but it didn't. It seemed to be searching for…something. It ran from me, not out of fear, but because it was on a mission."

"You defeated it?" Philip asked.

"Yes."

"Interesting," Quentin remarked, suddenly guarded. "And, what of this young woman who purchased the dangerous combination of items? What was she like?"

Giles cleared his throat, which redirected everyone's attention to await whatever he was about to say.

"Erm, she was rather pretty, as I recall," he bashfully stated. "She seemed young. In her twenties, perhaps? The only other thing I remember is that she was quite determined to purchase the two items and she was impatient to leave."

No one spoke, as a silence fell over the room. The Council members were watching their leader, and a couple were taking copious notes in their journals. Buffy and her friends were waiting; they waited for the Watchers to take their turn in sharing information and they also waited for the meeting to be over. Quentin seemed to realize that the Slayer and her friends were expecting him to give more information, so he stepped toward Giles and leaned back on the display case and folded his arms.

"You face two problems, in dealing with Glorificus," he sighed. "For one, the identity of the mortal who acts as the host for the parasitic goddess is unknown. The monks themselves did not know how to find the hell beast's vulnerable other half. But, they did suspect that, if the Beast was ever to emerge, even for a moment, she would inevitably seek out the only thing that would lead to her freedom. Something that the Order of Dagon called 'The Key.'"

The hairs on Buffy's neck bristled, but she kept her poker face intact. She didn't dare look to her left, where Giles stood.

"The Key is her only salvation. With it, she can leave the mortal husk and return to her own realm."

"What does this 'Key' look like, then?" Buffy asked nonchalantly.

"We don't know that, either," Mr. Travers admitted. "The monks insisted that _they_ were the protectors of The Key. But, one by one, we had reports of dead Order members showing up all across Europe and, eventually, in the States. We suspect that the reason the Council was made aware of the Order of Dagon and its purpose was because they knew that, eventually, they would need our help. Or," he leveled a pointed gaze at Buffy, "help from the Slayer." He brought his arms down and turned to face Giles. "Hearing that Glorificus was in Sunnydale, and given the most recent actions you've tied to her, she is most definitely hunting for The Key. And it is obviously here, in Sunnydale. She wouldn't waste her valuable time searching with such specific methods, if The Key was elsewhere."

Buffy's heart pounded with her small chest. She was thankful that it was an internalized symptom of her anxiety. Her face was still chiseled into a calm façade.

"Okay, so what are my options?" She didn't only ask the question of Quentin, but to the entire band of Watchers in the shop. "How do I kill a god?"

"Her powers are limited, while bound to her human counterpart, but she is still invincible," the eldest Watcher continued. "If you could identify the man or woman who she resides in, I suppose that the mortal side would be as vulnerable as the average human. And she cannot live without her host. That was the original intention of her banishment and punishment: to give her a half-life and a mortal death.

"But," he cautioned, "identifying her mortal half's identity is highly unlikely. Those are magics that have nothing to do with our realm. Our best option is to identify The Key. Find it, destroy it, and you will save our world from being ripped apart by the convergence of countless other dimensions and the horrors they contain."

"And how am I supposed to do that?"

"You're the one espousing your little faction of being a powerful team. You have two talented witches?" He looked over to Willow and Tara. "Have them locate The Key. If Glorificus can summon a monster to search out Sunnydale, surely the two of you can locate something that is otherworldly."

"And what if it's, like…" Buffy hesitated, worrying about revealing too much and also dreading what the answer might be, "a _living_ thing?" Quentin narrowed his eyes, and Buffy quickly added, "like a puppy?"

Mr. Travers stared at her with a shrewd eye. "Do you have a reason to believe that The Key would be encased in a…puppy?"

" _You're_ the ones saying that you don't know what it looks like. I'm just worried that it'll be something that's innocent," she pointed out, poker face still engaged. "I'm the Vampire Slayer, not the puppy killer."

"If it _is_ a living being, innocent or not, your objective is the same. Destroy it. Kill it. Better one innocent life than the whole of our world obliterated. Is that understood, Slayer?" His tone was, once again, dripping with the authority he wielded. The look he gave her was stern. And the room was thick with the tension radiating from the two verbal sparrers.

"So, to stop the end of the world as we know it, I have two choices," Buffy clarified, "either destroy The Key or kill the human that little miss Glory is stuck inside. Is that what you're telling me?"

"Yes," Quentin answered plainly. "And that is _everything_ that we know, on the matter. We will apprise you of any new information, when we have it. Is there anything else you have to share with _us_?"

Buffy swallowed nervously and forced a smile to appear on her face. "Nope."

He studied her expression for a moment, then shook his head. "Well, in that case, you have a clearer view of what you're up against and what the stakes are. You know your directive: find The Key and destroy it." He turned to Giles. "Rupert, I trust that, now that you are back among the fold, I will receive regular updates and correspondence. _Complete_ reports, nothing omitted. Is that clear?"

Giles nodded. "Of course," he mumbled.

Without ceremony, the Council members left the magic box. The Sunnydale residents watched them leave in silence, and the quiet lingered for much longer. Outside, the sun had set, and Buffy was overdue to return home. But more needed to be said, and, this time, there was no avoiding the subject.

"Buffy," Xander spoke up first. "What the HELL is going on? Glorificus? The Key? The end of the world? Why didn't you tell us any of this was going on?"

"Yeah," Willow tacked on. "It's not like you to be this secretive about another apocalypse. We've faced everything together. And why didn't you tell me about Angelus being back?"

She bit her bottom lip and shifted her weight back and forth on her feet. That was a lot of questions. She'd been holding back too much information.

"First of all," she started as a defense, "this has all happened within a week. A WEEK. Dracula, Angelus, Glorificus, my mom's stuff, Riley leaving-"

"Riley _leaving_?!" Willow repeated with heightened shock. Xander's eyebrow's raised in mild shock, although he didn't look nearly as surprised as the two witches at the table. Anya looked both unsurprised and uninterested.

"Yes, Riley leaving!" Buffy shouted back, fully exasperated by having to share so much at once. "He was…sick," her voice softened, reliving her feelings about the undesired breakup. "Graham came to Sunnydale to help him. The Initiative put some cocktail of steroids or something into their bodies. Riley's only choice, if he wanted to live, was to work for the government, again." She wanted to cry. She could feel the lump in the back of her throat, but then Angelus came to the front of her mind. "I pushed him away, to save his life. He's gone, and he's not coming back."

No one spoke for the next few minutes. Buffy gathered herself and addressed Willow's first question.

"I didn't tell you about Angelus because he's not really a threat, right now," she tried to explain.

"Not a threat?" Xander picked up from where their previous argument had left off. "Not a _threat?!_ He tried to kill us, the other night, at your home!"

"NO," Buffy retorted. "He was looking for me, to tell me to stay away from Dracula, and he wasn't going to hurt any of you. He can't."

Xander scoffed. "He _can't_. He's a vampire! He tried to get in!"

"You've both hated each other from the moment you knew about one another, even when he had his soul," Buffy pointed out. "Riley told me, before he left, that the Initiative captured Angelus and placed a microchip in his head. It stops him from hurting or killing humans," she clarified, crossing her arms over her chest. "When we were there fighting Adam, he escaped."

"Pffft! Right, and you're going to believe that the Initiative's little device actually worked? Come on, Buffy-"

"I provoked him, he attacked me, it fired and sent him rolling on the ground in pain," she snapped back. "I'm not sure exactly how the thing works, but I know it stopped him from hurting me."

Xander was still shaking his head, while everyone else stayed out of the personal argument. Willow looked a little less worried, while Anya and Tara politely listened without knowing all of the history behind the debate.

"Angelus helped me kill the crocodile monster, the other night," Buffy spoke slowly and firmly, wanting the words to sink into the minds of everyone within the room, so that the conversation could end and they could move on to other matters. "If he hadn't been there, there's no way I would've defeated that thing."

"So, he _can_ kill," Xander snidely commented.

"Anything that's not human, yes."

More silence.

"This is just a lot to take in, Buffy," Willow whispered.

"But we understand why you haven't had the time to tell us everything," Tara spoke up, trying to calm the situation. "I'm so sorry you've had to deal with all of this at once."

"And that's not all," Buffy smiled at her newest friend, thankful for the show of compassion. She turned her head to Giles, who nodded for her to continue. "The Key – the thing that Mr. Travers was telling us about – "

She stopped, suddenly terrified to tell her friends the truth about her sister.

"Yeah?" Xander prodded, "what about it?"

She took a deep breath.

"I know where The Key is," she said quickly. All four of her friends were shocked. "I know what it is. I know… _who_ it is."

"Is it a puppy?" Anya asked.

"No-"

"It is a bunny?" the former demon asked with a tremble in her voice.

"NO. It's…It's Dawn."

Xander stared at her in disbelief. "Dawn. Like, your sister?"

Buffy nodded.

"The monks made a clone of your sister…" he whispered in awe.

"No," Buffy sighed. "Dawn _is_ The Key. There was no 'Dawn' six months ago. The monks created her, gave her and us memories to make us believe that she had always been here, but she's not…real. She's The Key. Remember the revealing spell I did that one night?"

Willow and Tara perked up a bit, as did Anya. "That was _my_ idea," Anya proudly patted herself on the back. Buffy ignored the interjection and continued.

"I walked around my house, trying to find a magical reason for my mom being sick. I didn't find anything affecting my mom, but I did see…changes." She swallowed, but her throat felt like a desert. "Every picture of my sister was… I don't know exactly how to explain it… blinking? One second Dawn was there, and the next she was no longer in the photo. EVERY photo. And, when she walked in, she was there and… not there, too. Sometimes, she was just this… outline of bright green light.

"That's when I heard, like, a weird surround system of voices in my head, all speaking together. They said she was The Key, given to me to protect. They told me about Glorificus, too, but they called her different names. That's the 'vision' that I, that we," she looked to Giles, again, "told the Council I had.

"There were other signs, too," Buffy went on. "Angelus has no memory of her, up until the night he first showed up. He was the one who gave me the information that Dawn was no older than six months old. I guess the monks didn't bother screwing with his memories."

"They might not have been able to do so, Buffy," Giles quietly posed.

"Yeah, maybe," she nodded. "And my mom wigged out a few times on Dawn, too, telling her she wasn't real and that she wasn't there. Giles thinks it has to do with the tumor affecting that part of her brain. There was this weird guy that came up to Dawn, while I was with her. We just thought he was crazy, telling her that she was so bright and acting like he knew what she was."

Yet another silence fell in the shop. This time, there was an awkwardness that lingered in the air, waiting to be admitted into the serious conversation. Even Anya was uncharacteristically somber.

"But I remember the first time I met her," Xander softly reminisced. "Almost five years ago. Willow and I, we were at your house, before your date with Owen…"

"Dawn came into your room without knocking," Willow took up where Xander trailed off. "You were so mad! You introduced us to her and then kicked her out. She stuck her tongue out at you, before she left…"

"And that's how I remember it, too, Willow, Xander," Buffy said with sympathy. "But, the reality is, she wasn't there. My mom, during her stay in the hospital, had a moment like that, seeing a memory both with Dawn and without her. So, she knows the truth, too. Dawn's not actually my sister. She's The Key, given human form, hiding in plain sight, and made by the monks to be someone that we'd be willing to protect."

"And now, you have to kill her," Anya sadly added to Buffy's monologue.

The Slayer turned a menacing glare to the ex-demon. "Ex- _cuse_ me? Listen-"

"No, Buffy," Giles, the usual voice of reason within the group, "we owe it to ourselves, to the Council…indeed, to the world, to discuss this."

"Discuss _what_?"

"Buffy," her Watcher tried to placate her gently, "you said it yourself. She's not your sister. She didn't exist six months ago. But, while she does exist, she is a threat to everyone, everything on this earth."

"No…NO…"

"We're not talking about the Hellmouth opening," he quietly pressed on, with his hands balling into fists at his sides. "We've seen it open on a few occasions, and we've beaten back everything it spewed out until the threat ceased and it once again hibernated. You heard the Council. This would open up _dimensions_. We would be facing armies of creatures that we know little to nothing about. And we would lose. EVERYTHING. Do you understand that?"

Buffy glared daggers back. "I understand that we are all very scared, right now, and that this is NOT the time to come up with a plan to defeat Glorificus. And I understand that, just because we've accepted help from the Council does NOT mean that I am taking orders from them."

She walked toward the exit of the Magic Box, turning to face the five other people in the shop a final time.

"So, now you're all caught up," she said with a false cheeriness. "I was expected at home hours ago, so you'll have to excuse me, while I go take care of my mother and my sister." Her expression hardened as she swept her eyes around the room. "And know that, if anyone comes after them, Glorificus, one of her minions, or any of you…they'll have to go through _me_ , first."

Her gaze landed on her Watcher, and he met her contemptuous stare with his own remorseful one.

"Do you understand _that?"_

He looked away, and she left the building, eager to be home.

She didn't care about the conversation they would have, once she was gone. She didn't care what they would think about her, after this. As far as she was concerned, she had a new top priority: protect Dawn. Her foot was down, and they now knew where she stood on the issue of destroying The Key.

NOT. HAPPENING.

At home, Joyce was resting in bed, and Dawn was in her room. Buffy checked on her sister, but Dawn had headphones in and gave her a dirty look for opening her door without knocking. Joyce was awake, reading one of her romance novels, and Buffy went in and sat on the bed next to her.

"Hey, Mom," she greeted as she approached.

"There you are!" Joyce smiled, looking up from her book. "I was wondering if you'd be home before going out to patrol!"

Buffy smiled guiltily. "Yeah, I'm sorry about that. There was this whole testing thing I had to do with the Watchers' Council, and they flew all the way from England just to give us, like, two new pieces of information. Ridiculous," she rolled her eyes as she finished.

"What information?"

Buffy hesitated, but figured that her mother deserved to know more about Dawn's origins. She looked back toward the door, then rose from her seat to close it and give the two of them additional privacy.

"Dawn's in her room, listening to music, so we should be okay," she started.

Joyce was instantly worried. "Is everything okay? Is Dawn going to be okay? What's going on?"

"Mom, chill, it's okay." She sat back down on her mother's bed and smiled to show that there was no cause for panic. Her mother didn't need to know about everything. "The Council knew a little bit about Dawn's origins. Are you sure you want to know more about her? I'm happy just pretending she's always been a part of our family."

Joyce shook her head. "This whole thing is so strange, I don't think knowing more would confuse me any more than I feel, at the moment. And every time I look at her… Maybe, if I knew more, it would help?"

_Oh, Mom…if you only knew…_

"Okay, well, apparently, there was this group of monks. They're called the Order of Dagon. They protected this thing called 'The Key.' And it is a key, to…let's just say to another universe. They held onto it, protected it, for lifetimes. No one knows how long they had it. Anyway, somehow they heard about me, and they felt that it would be safer with me. With us," she added as an afterthought. "They used their mystical powers to mold her into a sister for me to love. And they changed all of our memories to include her, so that we would watch over her. That's why I called her a gift. I'm sure that they knew that I wanted a sister. You knew that. Even before Dawn was…well, before we remember Dawn being born."

Joyce was wide-eyed, but she nodded in agreement. "Yes…"

"I can't remember growing up as an only child," Buffy murmured, actually trying to visualize how different her life would have been without Dawn constantly there. "And, although I'm sure I was still happy, that's not my life, anymore."

"Wait," Joyce interrupted. "Wait. How long has Dawn actually been with us, then?"

Buffy held her breath for a beat. "Sometime within the past six months."

"What does that mean?"

"Sometime within the past six months," Buffy repeated, "she was made into a human and given to us."

Joyce had been sitting up in bed, but now she fell back against the headboard at the shattering news. "Six months… how?"

"Mom-" Buffy started, but Joyce held up a hand to silence her eldest daughter. Her only biological child.

"It's…just, let me process, for a moment, that my youngest child is in fact, some mystical… _thing_. Not a teenager. A…key."

They sat for a few minutes, before Joyce spoke again.

"And what were these monks, and now you, protecting her _from_? You left out that rather important piece of information."

"Um, well, we don't really know that. We just know that she's valuable and needs to stay hidden. I mean, not in a weird, lock-her-in-her-room-forever way. As in, let her lead a normal life and don't let her know any of this."

"How did _you_ figure this out? That Dawn wasn't your sister?"

"I kind of…did a spell? I wanted to see if there was something wrong with you." Buffy struggled to explain her actions, especially with Joyce giving her a cynical look. "I mean, the doctors didn't know anything, and I thought it might be magical headaches, or something. So, anyway, the spell gave me a kind of vision. I saw that Dawn was the only magical thing that was here. Then, some research and a Council visit later, and voilà!"

"Okay," Joyce squinted her eyes. "And how did I know?"

"Your tumor," Buffy whispered. "Remember about what Giles said? The place it was located in your brain was responsible for separating fantasy from reality. We think that, because your brain was affected by the tumor, it also let you see Dawn for what she actually was."

"But everyone else…?"

"They only know, now, because I told them. Just my friends and Giles. The Council doesn't know Dawn is The Key. They just think The Key is somewhere in Sunnydale and that I need to be on the lookout for it."

There was nothing more Buffy wanted to add to the conversation. That was everything her mother needed to know. And it was all so overwhelming that, luckily, Joyce ran out of questions. She kissed her daughter goodnight and Buffy left her mother to rest.

Buffy walked down the hall from the master bedroom to her own room, breathing a sigh of relief when she saw that her sister's door was still closed. The light was off, and Dawn was most likely asleep for the night.

When she opened her own door, she almost expected to see Angelus. But, although her window was open, the vampire was nowhere to be seen. She shivered and closed the window, before getting ready for bed.

Outside the Summers home, Dawn had just made it from the roof to the ground, landing in the soft grass of their lawn. She felt numb. Inside and out. Goosebumps were everywhere on her flesh, underneath the hoodie and pajama pants she wore. Her sneakers helped to cushion her fall, but the soles of her feet slightly burned from the impact. She gritted her teeth at the different sensations she simultaneously felt on her body.

_The monks certainly did a good job, creating a teenager from…whatever I actually am. A key? A key to what? To a universe? Where the heck is the lock, then? Six months ago. Everyone knows. But not me. No one told me. Were they ever going to? Of course not. I'm a thing, like Mom said. No, not Mom. She's not my mother. I don't have a mother. I'm a THING._

"What kind of trouble are you looking for?" a deep voice called out behind her with a chuckle.

Dawn kept walking, ignoring the person that eventually fell into step alongside her.

No, not a person.

"Leave me alone!" she hissed at Angelus.

"Whoa! Excuse _me_ for being curious, Slayerette," he sneered back. He didn't stop, and she didn't try to lose him.

They traveled separately together for blocks, until she finally gave in.

"I'm going to the hospital," she informed the vampire.

"Then, being the sweet guy I am, I'll escort you there…so that you make it in one piece."


	13. Crushed

**Author's note: That moment in your writing when you want to quote a character's previous words, but you realize that you made them sound like an inept idiot. And you have no choice but to do it again. *sigh* You'll see.**

**I'm enjoying the story more, now, because a lot of the plot points (mine and the show's) are beginning to unravel. Much easier to write. Yay!**

**I hope you all are well. Thank you for being patient! Life gets complicated, at times.**

**Happy reading!**

**Jenn**

* * *

Two figures made their way from residential streets toward the largest hospital within Sunnydale's city limits. The younger of the two, both in appearance and in reality, was taking long strides full of purpose. The male vampire alongside her easily kept up with her hastened pace.

"So, feeling sick, little sis?" he teased her.

"No," she scowled back at him. "Why are you following me? Why do you care where I go?"

"Why are _we_ on our way to a hospital?" he countered.

"Answer my questions first!" she huffed, with only a slight side-eye in his direction.

"No," he simply answered.

"Ugh!" The disgust in her tone was childish and nonthreatening.

They continued walking, and Dawn found herself suddenly more willing to talk. The thoughts running through her head seemed to leak from her lips.

"I remember when you had a soul, you know," she began. He sneered, but continued to listen. "You and Buffy seemed to drive each other crazy. Then, when you lost your soul and went all psycho on her, she still cared about you, for some reason. Riley was better for her. Better than you. And yet, here you are and there he went. It's not fair. Love is stupid."

"Welcome to life, kiddo," he delivered derisively.

"Are you planning on killing me tonight? Because if that's your way to get back at my sister for loving you, then I have to tell you…it's not a great plan."

He smirked at that. "If I'd wanted to kill you, I wouldn't be trekking across the city five feet away from you. I would've drained you dry next to your house and left your body for your sister to find. Maybe even turned you, so that she'd be forced to kill you herself."

Dawn shivered and finally looked over at Angelus. Really looked. "Why didn't you, then?"

"A few reasons," he muttered under his breath. _Had_ he any breath within his lungs.

She came to an abrupt halt, then, and it took the vampire a few paces before he realized that she was no longer near him. He stopped, too, to backtrack to her position, standing at an oddly respectful distance and waiting for her to say something.

"Do you…does _soulless_ you remember when we met?" she asked timidly.

He gave her an appraising look. "I remember everything. With or without a soul." He tilted his head up in a show of superiority. "Why do you ask?"

"You were…nice. Polite. Of course, no one knew you were a vampire, then."

"When was that?"

"The night Buffy snuck you into the house," she clarified. "Mom wasn't home, yet, but I was. You guys ran into her room, and I totally caught you running through the hallway. Buffy swore she'd pay me ten bucks to not tell Mom…which she never paid me, because you went out and met Mom, anyway."

He grinned, recalling the specific incident that led to his first time being invited into the Summers home. "You and I remember that night _very_ differently." Angelus chuckled softly.

"What does _that_ mean?"

"I only remember meeting you for the first time a week ago, when you cowered behind that pathetic dolt, Harris."

His eyes glinted mischievously, as he watched her try to figure out his meaning.

"You said…you said that you remember everything Angel went through, too."

He smirked a little more darkly at the confused young girl.

"W-what do you know?" she squeaked out.

He took a step closer to her and cocked an eyebrow. "I think," he slowly and quietly responded, "that the important question here is: what do _you_ know?"

Dawn's face paled in the moonlight, which gave her a similar pallor to the vampire near her.

"Buffy came home tonight, and I was in my room. She barged in, totally rude, so I got up to yell at her for not knocking." She bit the inside of her lips together, folding them under her teeth momentarily. "I heard her and Mom talking. About me."

"Am I going to be stuck listening to you whine all night about nothing?" he interrupted.

"She – Buffy – called me…a key."

Angelus' ears perked up. _Finally,_ he thought. _Looks like it's the little twerp who will give me some answers._

"A 'key' to what?" the vampire lightly probed, not wishing to seem too interested.

"I don't know, exactly," the girl fretted. "I need to find out more. And I know Buffy won't tell me. She treats me like a baby. Her and Mom-" she tried to finish the sentence, but a lump appeared at the back of her throat, constricting her words and preventing her from swallowing.

"Well, you _are_ only, like, six months old," Angelus cruelly teased. "Maybe younger."

Dawn's eyes widened at that comment. "You knew? You _know_? Then what am I? Why do I have all these memories, if I'm just some stupid key that some stupid monks wanted the Slayer to protect?"

_Protect from what?_ He thought back to the crocodile monster that he had killed only a few nights ago. _Summoned,_ he recalled. _Summoned by something or someone very powerful. Scary powerful._

The Slayer's vague reveal about her random kid sister.

" _We found out that…she's…someone special. There's someone after her, but we're not sure who or what this thing is, but I need to protect her. And, even if she's not really my sister, she was made by some monks_ from _me. She's my blood. And…I love her."_

_The pieces are starting to fall into place,_ he mused. _Now, I just have to figure out what part I want to play…_

"I know," he started, "that whatever 'memories' those monks gave you, _this_ is our first _real_ conversation. To me, you're nothing more than some little girl that the Slayer happens to believe is her sister and someone that she is trying to protect from something out to get you."

Angelus took the initiative to continue walking toward Dawn's original destination: the hospital. He heard her fall into step behind him.

"What's Buffy protecting me from?" she called out.

"Hell if I know," he shrugged, without looking back. "You're a key, right? Maybe whatever is looking for you is locked out of their home," he joked.

When they reached the hospital, Angelus stopped Dawn outside, before she entered.

" _Why_ are we here?" he asked again.

She tensed at the menacing growl present in the dark vampire's voice. "I-I just need to see if…" The teen appeared to be at a loss for words. "There was this guy, and something was wrong with him. And my mom, too. Even though she's not really my mom," she whispered. "When she got sick, she, like, saw me differently. I think, if _they_ saw me differently, I might find some more people, sick people, that might know more…about me. About what I am."

He stared at her skeptically, but nodded for her to continue in. She walked through the sliding doors alone, as he chose to wait outside.

Dawn saw the single staff member at the information booth in the lobby at the hospital. As it was the middle of the night, the middle-aged woman cheerily greeted the teenager and asked where she was headed.

"Um, my cousin is about to have her baby?"

"Labor and Delivery wing is on the third floor. Elevators are right over there," the woman gave a polite sweeping gesture toward the many silver mechanical doors.

"Thanks," Dawn muttered, relieved.

She pushed the 'up' button, waited on one set of the doors to open, and nervously glanced back at the woman at the information desk. The worker had her head down, more interested in what was on her computer than on keeping an eye on whether or not the teenage girl made it to her destination. Dawn glanced at the floor map on the wall next to the elevator buttons.

_Neurology and Neurosurgery Services…fifth floor._

Her mom had just left the fifth floor. And here Dawn was, about to sneak back and purposefully try to find someone else to freak out on her. The elevator that arrived to take her there was mercifully empty, and she rode in the small space alone.

The skeletal nursing staff was mostly at their computer stations, typing reports and monitoring vitals. Dawn ducked into the first open room, to avoid difficult questions. The patient in the room, an elderly man, was sound asleep. For half of a second, she thought about waking the poor ailing man up; but she realized that, if the encounter ended up being as dramatic as the episodes with her mother, she needed to figure out a way to excuse her being there and riling up the patients.

Her mother's former room was two more doors down. She crouched to her knees and peeked out the doorway. There was no one in the immediate area, so she ducked down and rushed the few feet to the new room.

As expected, her mom's old room was already occupied by a new patient. The man in the bed was younger than the elderly man she had just visited. About her mother's age, or maybe a little younger. He seemed dazed, staring up at the ceiling, with wavy, dark curls down to his shoulders and haunted eyes. When she stood to face him, at the end of his bed, he focused on her quickly and with a look that simultaneously screamed both surprise and terror.

"It's you! You're The Key! You shine so bright! You glow! Your light will destroy the world! The Beast will feast on the very stars in the sky like they are curds and whey…Curds and whey! Shiny, shiny, SHINY, SHINY, SHIIIIIINY!"

"Hey!" a different man's voice called out behind her. Dawn spun around to find the familiar medical intern entering the room of the distressed patient. "Oh!" he added in surprise, realizing who she was. "Miss Summers? It's me, Ben," he reassured the frightened young girl. "What are you doing here?"

She'd wanted to ask the man in the hospital bed more questions, but the commotion he'd made had, unfortunately, terminated that option. Her frustration mounted within her, but she forced herself to give the excuse she'd been reciting in her mind.

"I-I thought I-I might have left my book in here. For school," she lamely added.

The patient continued to shout, and Ben pulled her from the room. As they exited, two nurses ran past them to sedate the afflicted man. Once outside the room, Ben rounded on Dawn.

"The rooms are given thorough cleanings between every new patient," he explained gently, trying to be as polite as possible. "If they found anything, they would have contacted your mother or your sister. What book are you missing?"

"Um… _To Kill a Mockingbird_ ," she said on the spot. She was actually reading the book for one of her classes, but it was tucked away safely in her backpack.

"Good book," he smiled. He saw the hesitation in her eyes, but didn't know what to make of it. "You can't be back here, now that your mother is no longer a patient. Come with me to the waiting room, and I'll get you something from the vending machines to snack on, on your way home. Does anyone know you're here?"

"Yeah, I have a…friend waiting for me, outside."

"Okay. Well, follow me."

The duo left the restricted area and took the familiar path back to the waiting room. Dawn wasn't particularly hungry, but she agreed to a bag of Skittles, anyway. Ben paid with some quarters from his pocket and handed them to her.

"Everything okay at home?" he asked nonchalantly. "Is your mother okay?"

_My mother…_ Dawn thought bitterly. _She's NOT my mother._ Tears were forming without her consent, and she couldn't brush them away fast enough to hide her pain from the kind intern.

"What's going on?" he gently probed.

Dawn clenched her jaw, but she nodded when he gestured for them to sit in the empty chairs. She sat and took a breath.

"I'm just going crazy, that's all," she half-joked. "I don't know who I am, and my life has turned upside down."

Ben smiled grimly beside her. "I know a thing or two about that," he quietly confided.

"No," Dawn vehemently shook her head. "No, this isn't some teen identity crisis, this is…" She paused, realizing who she was speaking to. Just an ordinary man. Not part of the supernatural squad. He'd check her into the psych ward, if she blurted out any more. "Ugh, just never mind. It's stupid, it makes no sense, and I should go."

She stood to leave, but Ben stopped her with reassuring words.

"Hey! It's okay!" he called out to her. "Whatever you're going through, it's not small, if it affects you this much. And it's not crazy or stupid, if it's something that's hurting you. As for making no sense," he shrugged, "try me. I promise I won't judge." She gave him a skeptical look, so he continued. "You could tell me that you're being hunted by a…a purple people-eater, and I won't laugh, I promise."

She laughed as she sat down. "A _what_?"

"A purple people-eat…whatever, it's just an old song," he ran a hand through his hair as he spoke.

"You're weird," she shot at him with a sassy look to accompany the insult.

He shrugged again, and she sighed. _He's a doctor. I guess the worst that could happen is that he'll just call Mom or Buffy…_

"I just found out that I was…um, adopted," she chickened out at the last second, choosing a safer path. "Or something like that. Buffy's not my real sister, and my mom's not my real mom."

Ben nodded supportively. "That's big," he affirmed. "That would be a big deal for anyone."

"That's not even half of it," she rolled her eyes. The words tumbled from her like a babbling brook. "I feel like _everything_ about me is a lie. I'm just some…made up thing! A weird…person that isn't a person at all! A stupid key-"

Ben stood abruptly, then, his eyes wide open and looking fearful.

" _Key_? Why did you say that?!"

Dawn squinted at him, confused at his sudden show of panic. "Um…" Then her face lit up with understanding. "Wait, do you know about The Key?" He backed away from where she sat, while scanning the room and hall for any other bodies. "Do you know about it?" Dawn stood and advanced on him, suspicious because of his silence. "Do you know what I AM?"

"Oh my God," he whined fearfully. "You're the reason why! You're why she's getting stronger! Because _you're_ here!" He ran both hands through his hair, holding onto his scalp, while his face turned beat red. "Dammit, I should've NEVER COME to this stupid town!"

Dawn shrunk away, at the turn he'd shown from panic to anger. "What are you-"

"She won't stop!" he shook his head. His eyes glazed over with a crazed expression. "She won't stop…unless…"

Ben lunged at the young girl and placed his hands around her neck. Dawn tried to scream, but his hands closed off her air supply, and a strangled gargle was all she was able to get out. Her eyes darted from him to around the room, praying for help to come. Her vision started to blur, then fade to black, as she began to lose consciousness.

And then, without warning, the pressure stopped, and soft hands removed themselves from around her windpipe. Dawn collapsed to the ground and took in painfully deep breaths. As soon as she could, she backed away from the body still standing over her, but she found a wholly different person staring down at her.

Ben was no longer there, and a woman wearing his scrubs took his place. She sneered down at the little girl in front of her as if she was staring at a worm writhing on hot cement. Her face was young and beautiful, but cruel. Haughty. Her mass of blonde wavy curls fell perfectly around her face and shoulders, with bright red lips that appeared to have been permanently dyed the color of rich blood.

"Okaaaaaay," the terrifying woman began. "So…I'm at the hospital and with some chick who I've never seen before. What's your name, cutie pie?"

Although she didn't want to answer, Dawn felt compelled to do so. "D-D-Dawn."

"Ah," the woman curtly acknowledged. "Well, Duh-Duh-Dawnie, what, may I ask were you talking to dear old Benji about?"

"W-w-who are you?"

"Answering my question with a question?" the blonde tsked disapprovingly. "Fine," she smiled. "I'll give you that one, but no more being difficult, okay Dawnie? I'm the one and only Glorificus, mighty goddess of…well," she looked around. "Not THIS dump, that's for sure. So, now you get to try again, small fry." Her demeanor changed, then, with her tongue and eyes becoming razor sharp. "What were you and Ben talking about?"

"N-n-nothing. My mother," she improvised. "He helped my mother get better. She had a tumor."

Glorificus narrowed her eyes. "Well isn't that sweet. Good old Ben. But, listen, I don't care about that," she said and then thought for a second. "I don't have much time, and I have a sneaking suspicion that you were talking about more than your mommy, to make me feel the need to make my grand entrance. So," she grabbed the teen and yanked her up to her feet. "Wanna try that again, girly? You only have one more strike, and then we can't be friends, anymore."

The grip on the girl's arm tightened then, and Dawn let out a whimper. "Please!" she begged. The grip tightened further. "My sister is the Slayer!" she called out, then, more reflexively than anything.

Glorificus loosened her hold, but only slightly. "The Slayer? What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"She's the Vampire Slayer!"

"Ugh," the goddess disgustedly responded. "Do I _look_ like a vampire to you?" Dawn shook her head rapidly. "Why should I care about your sister? Why would Ben care?"

"B-Ben doesn't know she's the Slayer, I only told him…" she stopped herself before revealing too much. She needed a way to dig out of this hole. And Dawn feared there was only one thing to do: tell the truth. Some of it, anyway.

"Told. Him. WHAT?" Glorificus' grip tightened, again, and Dawn almost buckled under the pain.

"My sister met with some old men who came into town. They told her to look for a key!"

The goddess threw Dawn into a chair and clapped giddily. Dawn massaged the bruised forearm and thought of every possible method of escape available to her. The blonde woman was obviously super strong. _Like, Buffy-strong…maybe even stronger._ _If I run, will she catch me? What if she has, like, super speed, too, or something?_

"What a coincidence! I'm looking for The Key, too! Small world, huh? I KNEW it was somewhere in this trash bag of a town! I could _feel_ it."

"Y-you can…s-sense it?"

Glorificus frowned. "No," she admitted. "I mean, if I wasn't stuck in this little body, I could. But, hello! Stuck in this dumb mortal realm and forced to abide by its petty rules and physics! Dumb, dumb, DUMB!" The goddess hit her forehead with the heel of her hand, then pushed her palm against her temple. "Where is it? Where's my Key? I need it!" she whined.

Dawn slowly stood, trying to retreat without inciting the woman holding her hostage to charge.

"Stop right there, little girl," Glorificus practically growled. "You're not going anywhere until I have my key!"

_Need to stall. Dammit, where's Angelus, now that I actually need his help?_

"Wha-what does it look like, this Key?"

Glorificus beamed, then, reminiscing in her own twisted mind. "Oh, it's so beautiful and bright! The last time I saw it, it was this vibrant green ball of energy that just pulsed with power!" She pressed her palms together, with the tips of both hands at her lips. "I only saw it for a moment, before those horrible monks ran away with it." Her eyes darkened and she pulled her hands away. "I had my minions chase them down, taking them out one by one, but they never brought me my Key. I killed the last monk myself, but he hid my Key somewhere in this crappy town, and he wouldn't tell me where!

"I even did a spell, to summon a creature to find it. The pet of one of your world's puny gods. Worthless croc never even came back! What is _wrong_ with this place?" she lamented. "So, do you know where my Key is or not, little miss?"

"I-I-I-" Dawn helplessly stammered.

" _I-I-I_ WHAT?" Glorificus yelled to interrupt the frightened child. " _I-I-I_ think you're pretty useless! And _I-I-I_ think you have NO IDEA where my Key is! And _I-I-I_ think that this conversation is OVER!"

The blonde woman hit her head with her hand, again, clearly in pain.

"OW! I HATE THIS BODY! I HATE THIS PLACE! I need…I need…" She reached for Dawn with both hands heading for either side of the young brunette's head, hobbling over to her. Dawn jumped up and away from the oncoming goddess, running through the room and out the door.

"DON'T RUN! DON'T-"

Dawn didn't stop until she was outside the hospital, where Angelus was leaning against a tree. She caught her breath, while the vampire smirked at the young girl, amused by her distress.

"How'd the field trip go, little sis?" he mockingly asked.

"I saw –" breath. "I saw –" breath. "I saw – Glorificus!" she finally rasped out.

Angelus' brows knitted together, perplexed. "Who?"

Across town, Giles was preparing for bed, when there was an unexpected knock at his front door. He called out to let the person on the other side know that they needed to wait, then he proceeded to put on his robe and slippers. Making his way down the stairs, he called out again to let the knocker know that he was on his way to answer.

He opened the heavy wooden door to reveal Jenny, smiling broadly on the other side.

"Jenny!" he beamed back at her in greeting, then sheepishly stared at his casual attire. She'd seen him in less, of course, but it was still unnerving to welcome his girlfriend back into his apartment at such a late hour and in a state of undress.

He wanted to reach for her, but he noticed that she didn't carry anything on her. No purse, no suitcase. Nothing to show that she was staying.

"Rupert," she lovingly cooed back, glancing past him and then looking at him expectantly. "I've missed you so much!"

"Are you not staying?" he asked wistfully. "Is your job not done?"

"Yes, of course it's done!" she smiled, shaking her head. He glanced, again, at her empty hands. "May I come in?"

He met her smile with his own relieved one. "Do you even have to ask?" He stepped back and allowed her room to pass.

She stayed on the doorstep and pouted. "I always appreciate my boyfriend being a perfect English gentleman."

He laughed at that, continuing to hold the door open for her. When she didn't budge, he hesitated.

"Jenny…what's wrong?"

Ms. Calendar gave a coy grin and placed her hands on the top button of her blouse. "Nothing's wrong. I'm just tired, and I want to go to bed. And if you don't invite me in soon, I'll just have to strip down on your doormat, right here, right now." She pouted prettily, as she unbuttoned the blouse fully and showcased the bra underneath.

Giles blushed, then shook himself out of the moment. He cleared his throat and forced himself to keep a level head.

"Why do you…need an invitation?" he asked quietly. His heart beat heavily in his chest, and, although his mind wanted to jump to conclusions, he wasn't willing to delve into any of the dark ideas that were pressing on the outer banks of his consciousness.

"Come on, Rupert," she rolled her eyes. "I'm cold, out here. Can I come in, please?"

His face steeled. His heart sank.

"I'm not sure you can," he whispered.

Jenny laughed lightly. "What?" She became more serious, when Giles' expression remained unchanged. "Rupert," she responded in an equally tender whisper, "what is this? Can I come in or not? Are you mad at me? Did I do something wrong?"

"Jenny," he spoke evenly and clearly. "Why do you need my permission to enter?"

She laughed, again. "I don't need _permission_! I was just trying to be a polite, well-mannered girlfriend! Sorry if I-"

"I have a terrible feeling," Giles interrupted, "that you can't come in…because you can't cross the threshold without an invitation." Her head tilted in disbelief. "But I would be beyond relieved, if you would prove me wrong."

He turned and walked away, walking back toward the staircase railing and waiting, anxiously, to hear the sound of footsteps on his hardwood floor.

But, when he faced her once more, her true countenance was on display.

The ridges in her forehead and the bridge of her nose cut along her smooth skin. Skin that would, in her human form, be forever smooth and unblemished. Unaging. Her deep, soulful brown eyes were replaced by the eerily-bright yellow that gave her a hardened look. She sneered at her former lover and showed off her deadly fangs.

"I should've known you'd figure it out, Rupert," she spoke with a low growl. "So smart. Such a clever boy."

"Jenny," he whispered, collapsing to sit where he was at. "What happened to you?" His voice cracked.


	14. No Body

Vampire Jenny snarled at Giles. The poor man was still sitting on the stairwell, looking forlornly at his undead girlfriend.

"I'm afraid our relationship is over, lover," she sneered. Her blouse was still open provocatively, but there was no more sexual playfulness in her words. "I've got a new man in my life."

Realization dawned on the sorrowful man's face.

"Dracula," Giles whispered.

She smirked as a way to confirm his fears; then she darted into the night. The former librarian shakily rose from his seated position, walking straight over to the phone on his desk. He dialed Buffy's number, aware of the fact that he would be waking her household.

The phone only rang twice.

"Hello?" The young woman's voice on the other end of the line was groggy.

"Buffy! Jenny is…" his throat constricted, "she's…turned. Call Xander and Willow, let them know as quickly as possible, please. I can't…" He choked back a sob.

"Turned?" Buffy repeated, a little too tired to grasp her Watcher's meaning.

"It was Dracula," he barely got out. "I'm not sure where she's heading, but don't…don't do…anything, yet. Please. Call the others to warn them. We'll meet in the morning."

He hung up without another word. And that was it, as far as his composure was concerned. He broke in that moment, beginning to understand exactly what he had lost. Jenny was, for all intents and purposes, dead. She died. And nothing could reverse that. Even if they could restore her soul, somehow…

No. Jenny was gone. But killing her, even though it wasn't really _her_ …it was too final. More final than death, itself, because there wouldn't even be a body left to bury.

He readied himself for a sleepless night.

Across Sunnyvale, Buffy hung up after her Watcher abruptly ended his delivery of the devastating news.

_Miss Calendar… oh, Giles, I am so, so sorry… I didn't go after Dracula. I'm so stupid…_

Guilt and remorse plagued her mind, as she fully awoke from her daze. The first thing that entered her mind was her conversation with Angelus. _He told me not to go after Dracula. He said that he told Dracula that I belonged to him, to Angelus. I was so overwhelmed by everything going on…I didn't do my job as a Slayer, and now Miss Calendar…_

She clenched her fists. Giles gave her a job to do. She picked up the handset and dialed Willow and Tara's dorm.

Walking back to the Summers home from the hospital, Angelus listened to the young teen overshare what she had learned only moments ago.

"And I knew, I _knew,_ as soon as I saw her," Dawn sputtered out. The vampire's heightened senses allowed him to hear her racing heart push the blood throughout her sympathetic system. "But she didn't know me. She didn't know what I was. But I knew her name, what _she_ was, and that I needed to get away!"

"So, what is she?" Angelus asked, perplexed by the girl's ramblings.

"She's a hell god. Or goddess. Whatever," she shook her head, apparently in disbelief about her own words. "She needs _me_ to get back to wherever she's from. You were right," Dawn whipped her head to look directly at Angelus, as they walked together, "I _am_ the Key to her home." She looked to the ground in front of her footfalls. "And she's going to kill me to get back," she whispered mostly to herself.

"What was a hell god doing in a human hospital?" His words were cool and composed, but, if his heart could beat, it would have been racing, as well. _Shit. I knew it was something big, but a GOD? What kills a god?_

"She…" Dawn's voice faded into the night. Her face scrunched into confusion. "She…" repeated the suddenly bewildered girl. "Um… I went into the hospital…"

"Yes, I remember that," Angelus growled in impatience. "Can you skip ahead to anything helpful, kid?"

"I talked to the woman at the info desk," she went on, paying no attention to the vampire, "and I got on the elevator." She paused and looked thoughtful, again. Angelus bit his lip to keep from yelling at her. "Went up to Mom's old floor. Snuck into one room, but the man in there was asleep. I crawled to Mom's room, and there was a younger guy in there. He freaked out. Called me the key, called me shiny…and then…" Her brow creased further, trying to recall what had happened. Then, the tension was gone from her face. She shrugged. "Glorificus just…showed up. Maybe it was because the guy called me the Key? And she…she must've transported us to the waiting room…"

"That makes zero sense," the dark vampire scoffed. "Is that the only time you've been called the Key?"

"The only time to my face," she shrugged again.

"And how did you make it out of there?"

"She…" the intense focus returned, "she, like, got super weak, all of a sudden. And then she…reached for me? Said that she hated being stuck in that body. She kept hitting her head with her hand, all crazy. I ran away, and she started to follow me, but… I must've lost her…"

"She must be the most underpowered god in existence, to not be able to catch a little girl," he muttered. "Key or not," he added with a smirk in Dawn's direction. She returned the look with an equally sardonic one of her own.

Angelus left her to her troublesome memory gaps, occasionally glancing over at the young woman as they trudged back to her home, to see if she could recover anything else of use.

When they turned down the residential street, Dawn was the first to speak up.

"Buffy's light's on," she groaned. "She's gonna give me so much crap about sneaking out."

Angelus had nothing to say, not particular caring if the mystically-created little sister got an earful from the Slayer. They walked toward the home in renewed silence.

"Angelus," a female voice cooed behind them.

The duo spun around to find a woman standing in the middle of the street.

"Miss Calendar?" Dawn innocently addressed the moonlit figure.

Next to the teen, Angelus immediately growled and adopted a lower stance. "She's dead, kid. Run home."

"What?" The girl looked from the teacher to the vampire, unsure of what to believe.

Jenny's eyes were trained on the older vampire, seemingly unconcerned with the Slayer's sister. She stood still. Waiting.

"No heartbeat," Angelus clarified. "RUN!"

Trusting in the urgency of his words, the girl did exactly that, running the last few yards to the property line and then grabbing the house key from her shaking hands to get past the locked front door. Angelus heard and interpreted every movement Dawn made, but his eyes never shifted away from the female vampire. The new vamp showed little interest in the fleeing teen, but she flashed a smile of amusement to her companion.

"Does Rupert know you're back?" she asked in a very uncharacteristically melodramatic way. "If _I'd_ known, my family and I might've switched our focus to _you_! Oh well. No matter, now. I guess we're finally, truly, on the same team, aren't we?" She smirked sinisterly, her face looking as evil as it could without morphing into her demonic form.

"I told Drac that the Slayer is mine!" he snarled back.

She pretended to pout. "You told _him_ that, not me."

"You're not going near her," Angelus ordered, straightening up to his full height and glowering at her.

"What are you doing with Buffy, anyway, Angelus? I know you don't have your soul. Why did I just watch you walk the little sister home without so much as a scratch on her? Are you a vampire or not?"

"Why are _you_ here?" he shot back. "If I were your sire, I'd have you on a tighter leash."

"I bet you would," she cooed suggestively. Her expression immediately changed to one of dissatisfaction and annoyance. "We're leaving Sunnydale soon. I _wanted_ to tie up loose ends with Rupert, but he wouldn't let me in. I came to Buffy's as a consolation prize. Let her know that she failed in her one job. My parting gift to that self-important brat."

As she finished her unkind speech, the subject of their conversation appeared in the doorway of the home. Behind the Slayer, Dawn's head leaned into view. Buffy threw both hands out to the frame of the door, effectively blocking her sister behind the threshold's magical protection. When Jenny's focus strayed in the area over Angelus' shoulder, it made him turn around to see the Summers women.

Buffy looked pained, but equally firm in her resolve. Dawn stood on her tiptoes and shifted her focus from player to player. Joyce was nowhere to be seen.

Jenny pushed by Angelus quickly and was on the front steps of the Slayer's porch with supernatural speed. Angelus followed and remained a few feet back from the fledgling vamp, partially curious to see what would unfold between the two former allies.

"Hi, Buffy!" the vampiress spoke in a mockingly syrupy sweet voice. "My dark prince says 'hi,' too!" The Slayer kept her poker face intact and said nothing. Jenny assessed her silently for a minute, knowing that the two girls were wrestling within themselves to picture her as a vampire and not as the human that they knew and loved. "It's funny, now that I have all of these new powers… I can see you, clearly, for the first time." She frowned. "And I have to say, I'm unimpressed. I assumed you'd be this fierce warrior, with something in your eyes or radiating from your core that would strike fear into the hearts of anything and everything evil." Jenny smirked at the effect her words had on the young woman. "But I only see the same little scared girl from years ago."

"What do you want?" Buffy snapped.

"I'm guessing Rupert called and let you know my news. That's not as much fun, but, then again, neither was he." She light-heartedly chuckled, when Buffy narrowed her eyes at the insult to her Watcher. "It's strange, crossing over. I can fully understand the appeal of killing those who knew me when I was human. I helped Dracula kill my remaining family members." A self-satisfied smile spread across her chillingly beautiful face.

Dawn's eyes prickled with tears, but Buffy's only widened at the unspoken brutality within the vampire's words.

"I was thinking of doing a little more damage, before leaving Sunnydale, but now that you all know," she pouted, "well, that's no fun! So I'll say this: I'll see you soon, _Vampire Slayer_." Jenny took steps backward, which made Angelus also back up to allow her room. She kept her eyes on Buffy. "I'll be back, when you least expect it. Perhaps with a few new tricks up my sleeve," she coyly suggested, a mischievous glint in her cat-like eyes.

Angelus kept the fledgling vamp within his peripheral vision, but he glared at the Slayer. _Why isn't she_ doing _anything?! Kill this bitch, already! Do your job, Buff!_

But Buffy stood her ground, simultaneously looking stoic and pained.

Angelus stared, wondering what the plan was. _You can't let her go, Buff. She's not lying. She'll obsess over you and all your little friends and Watcher. She'll be a bigger threat, when she returns._

Something, not a soul, not a conscious…something more guttural, more primal, rose up within him. It caused him to act. He was older, stronger, and more experienced. If the Slayer wasn't going to handle the threat, he was more than up to the challenge. With unnatural speed, he closed the space between himself and the vampiress, holding her head with both hands and twisting it all the way off.

Congealed blood splattered the pavement only momentarily, before the young vampire's body and severed head flaked into dust that was shuffled into the night breeze.

Dawn screamed into her hands, and Buffy was panicked.

"What did you do?!" the incredulous blonde woman angrily gritted through her teeth.

Angelus noticed that both girls were muffling their voices. He clenched his jaw to keep from yelling back at the ungrateful brats.

"I did you a _favor_ ," he growled lowly. "She was a threat, and you weren't doing your job, _Slayer_. I think you owe me an apology, now, as well as a thank you." He backed away, obviously having one more thing to impart before leaving the Summers' property. "I'll collect them from you soon, Buff." He snarled and stormed off.

Buffy guided her sister away from the path of the front door. Once it was closed, she turned to embrace her sobbing sister.

"Why did that happen? What happened? Why did he _do_ that?" the teen cried out in ragged sentences.

"I'm sorry you had to see that," the older sister calmly ignored the hysterical questions and stroked the back of Dawn's head to soothe her.

The remaining hours of darkness saw Buffy consoling her distraught sister, until exhaustion finally wore both of them down to sleep. They cuddled on the couch, uncomfortable but needing the physical comfort.

At daybreak, the sunlight streamed through the window, reflected off the television, and then onto Buffy's closed eyes. She blinked rapidly, temporarily blinded by the unwelcome wake-up call. She gently rose from the couch and lightly pulled Dawn back upstairs to her own bed. Thankfully, her little sister easily fell back into a deep slumber. Buffy went to check on her mother, who was also sleeping. The dutiful daughter trudged back downstairs to get a fresh glass of water for her mother's nightstand.

_I still have a few hours until Giles will expect us to meet up,_ she reasoned, wishing to go back to her own room. But the idea of having to break the news to Giles…in front of everyone… _If I don't tell him now, it'll be so much worse._

A tear fell down her cheek, warm and tickling, and she brushed it away with a shaking hand. She dressed quickly, before anyone in her household could wake and interrupt her. Then, with stealth only possessed by a Slayer, she left her house and took the car.

When she knocked on Giles' door, she was surprised to hear footsteps quickly approach on the other side. _He probably didn't sleep, either_ , she thought grimly, dreading to bring him even worse news.

A beleaguered Rupert let her in, and Buffy cringed at how terrible he looked. His hair was unkempt, from frazzled hands running fingers through it, and the bags under his eyes aged him in a most unflattering way. He said nothing, as he walked like a zombie back to his couch. Buffy closed the door behind her and caught a glimpse of her own reflection in the mirror hung in the entryway. She was no picture of health, herself. Eventually, she sat next to Giles.

Neither wanted to speak first, but it was Buffy that won that battle.

"Did you tell the others?" he asked softly.

"Yes," she whispered back.

"And…" he hesitated, "did you…see her?"

"Yes," she repeated herself. She swallowed an uncomfortable lump in her throat and forged ahead. "Miss Calendar, Jenny, she came to my house, almost right after you called. Dawn snuck out, for some stupid reason, and then she came running in to find me."

Giles looked up from the floor and gave Buffy a hardened glare at the mention of the Key.

"Jenny came up to our porch, but she was upset when she found out that you had already told me what happened," Buffy related. Her heart broke, when she saw Giles' glance up to hold back tears.

"I've been up all night, thinking about it," he took over the conversation. "She was hunting Dracula because she and her family had perfected the soul restoration spell. If we can use that to bind her to her humanity, before she is able to kill, she can be a force for good-"

"She's already killed all of her family members, Giles," Buffy quietly interrupted.

The man seated next to her paused and shook his head in disbelief. "No, well, even so – they knew the risks. She's not killed an innocent, yet. We'll go today, right now," he stood, "to the hotel they were staying at. We'll retrieve the documents and translations, perform the ritual on her, and she'll-" He stopped mid-sentence, and his voice waivered. "I know that we won't have a future…together…anymore. But, at least we won't have to-"

Buffy grabbed his hand and he looked down at her. His legs buckled at her serious expression and he fell back into his seat.

"What?" he asked, now worried.

"Giles," Buffy started. Her Watcher snatched his hand away from her. "Giles, Jenny…she's gone. She's…done."

"You _killed_ her?" he choked out, accusingly. "I told you-"

"It wasn't me, it was Angelus." Giles continued to glare at his charge, but his eyes became murderous at this revelation. She continued, trying to use words to make sense of the action. "She was threatening us, all of us. She said she and Dracula were leaving Sunnydale, but that she would be back when we least expected it. I think Angelus kind of got, like, protective. He killed her before I had the chance to tell him to leave her be." More tears formed in her eyes. Her Watcher was saddened and furious. And disappointed in her. It shook her to her core, to see her father-figure look at her with such hatred. "I'm so sorry," her voice broke.

Giles stood, again, and turned away. "Well, I suppose there's nothing to do, then, today." His voice was unusually monotonous, and Buffy could tell that his rage was the only thing tempering his desolation. "The police will find the bodies of her family and assume that she, too, was murdered. I'll wait to hear from them, before making any funeral arrangements. Even though there's no body to-"

He cleared his throat, then, and turned back to face Buffy.

"What will you do to Angelus?"

"I don't know, yet," she answered honestly. She hadn't expected Giles to snap into a vengeful line of thinking. _Hello, Ripper,_ she inwardly grimaced.

"Will you kill him?"

"I-" she started. She had no good response for him. _Better to rip off the bandage._ "No," she sighed. "He has a chip, he isn't hurting humans, anymore-"

"He has no soul, Buffy." When she didn't immediately refute that, he pressed on. "Would you kill him, if I asked you to? As your Watcher. As your mentor. As your friend?"

"No," she reluctantly admitted. She knew he would use that tactic. "I am sorry that you, that all of us, lost Jenny. But it wasn't Angelus that killed her. It was Dracula," she emphasized, trying to reason with Giles. "Killing Angelus won't bring her back. And I need him to help protect Dawn."

Giles scoffed. "Ah, of course. You're protecting your fabricated little sister. The Key to Earth's destruction."

Buffy's eyes went to slits at the cruel description. "I. Don't. CARE, if she's _fabricated_. She's MINE to protect, and that is non-negotiable."

He walked past his Slayer and toward the front door. He opened it and waited, while giving Buffy a dismissive look.

"You refuse to listen to me," he said without emotion. "You routinely disobey me. I'm supposed to be your Watcher, Buffy, and yet, you relegate me to do only that: watch. Watch as you do whatever the hell _you_ want, without a care as to the consequences. I have been with you, beside you, supporting you for years. And, now, I've lost the only woman I've ever loved.

"You won't kill Angelus, you won't allow anyone to harm the Key, and, as you Americans so eloquently put it, it's 'your way or the highway,'" he spat the colloquialism out with disdain. "When you are ready for a Watcher, I will be here. While you continue to act only on your own accord, you hardly need me."

Her eyes misted, and Buffy felt her mouth suddenly becoming arid. She remained rooted to her spot, standing near the couch and facing the bitter man.

"I think it's time for you to go," he said in a low voice. Not threatening, but firm.

She walked slowly, watching him the entire time. He refused to meet her eyes and patiently waited for her to walk out of his home. When she was through, he closed the door before she had a chance to turn around.


	15. For Now

**Hello, readers!**

**Almost a four-month hiatus, there. I know how I want this story to finish, and I originally envisioned a sequel...but I think I'll be altering things a bit, to make a more concrete ending. I probably only need about four or five more chapters to wrap this up. I love this fandom SO MUCH. BTVS is so iconic, and I'm happy that generations, new and old, are discovering and rediscovering truths and lessons in its episodes.**

**You are awesome. Thank you for reading, supporting, and encouraging me. 2020 sucked (terrible vampire pun _not_ intended), but this site made it much more bearable. I really love this community. <3 **

**Happy reading and a happy 2021!  
Jenn**

* * *

The long week, stressful Council visit, and late-night news of Jenny's turning had the rest of the Scooby gang sleeping in late on that Saturday morning. Buffy made it home and was relieved to find everyone there still asleep, as well. She yawned as she went up the stairs, completely done with her day, although it wasn't yet seven in the morning.

She wanted to cry herself to sleep, but there were no more tears left to shed. At least she could sleep.

A couple of hours later, she was awoken by a soft knock at the door.

"Mmmph?" she grunted out.

"Buffy? It's me," Dawn called softly. "I, uh, the phone rang. It was Willow and she said that everyone was going to meet at the Magic Box when it opens."

Buffy groaned and sat up. She was still wearing the clothes she'd put on to meet up with Giles only hours ago. At least that was one less thing to do.

"Mmm-kay," she answered back groggily. "I'm up. Thanks."

"Can I come in?"

"Sure."

Dawn opened the door and slowly pushed it open, stepping through with timidity.

"Thanks for staying with me last night," she said seriously. But her words seemed to be directed at the carpet. "Aren't you mad at me for sneaking out?"

Buffy sat up in bed and glared at her. "Of course I'm mad about that."

"Why?"

"Why am I mad about my little sister putting herself in danger, when she knows, better than most in this town, what's out there? Really?"

Dawn blushed and finally met Buffy's eyes. Her hand was on the doorknob, and she hesitated to come further into the room.

"Angelus went with me," she defensively added.

The eldest sister snorted loudly. "Yeah. Great idea, having a soulless vampire escort you around town."

"You don't seem to mind him being around," Dawn shrugged.

"Because I'm the Slayer, and I can keep him in check," Buffy leveled a deadpan look at the younger girl.

"Do you still love him?"

"No," Buffy replied honestly. "I miss Angel. I… Angelus isn't hurting anyone, for now. And I need him around."

"Like last night? With Miss…" Dawn choked on the final word of her sentence, and a brief silence followed.

"Yes. I wish it hadn't ended that way, though. I wish…I wish I had been able to protect her."

"You can't protect everyone," Dawn whispered.

"Yeah, I know," Buffy nodded and patted the space on the bed next to her. The brunette complied, sitting next to her. The Slayer put an arm around her sister. "But that doesn't stop me from trying."

"It'd be easier, if I wasn't here," the teen morbidly declared.

Buffy hugged her sister tighter. "Don't say that. I can't imagine not having you in my life." She let go of Dawn to face her, using both of her hands to gently turn the girl's head in her direction. "I always wanted a baby sister, Dawnie. So, don't you dare try to make my life harder by doing stupid things like sneaking out at night!" Buffy cocked her head. "Why _were_ you sneaking out, anyway?"

Dawn's eyes glistened slightly, but she blinked the moisture away and composed herself quickly. "I just needed to get out of the house," she effectively lied through her teeth. "School, hospital, home…I was going crazy this week."

At that revelation, Buffy fully embraced her sister, feeling obtuse at not recognizing the strain Dawn had also been under.

"Yeah, I get that."

An hour later, Buffy was entering the Magic Box, expecting an awkward exchange with Giles. _But at least he knows. He can blame me, that's fine, but I can't protect everyone,_ she reminded herself of the earlier conversation with Dawn.

Giles was nowhere in the vicinity. An enthusiastic Anya greeted her and pointed her toward the rest of the gang.

"Giles told me that I was on my own…for a while, anyway," she gleefully revealed. "I control the money! This is so great! I marked up everything by ten percent this morning!"

The color drained from Buffy's face. "Giles _left_? Where did he go?"

The perky blonde placed a finger to her chin to contemplate in a more human fashion. "He called me this morning and said he was going to do some research in England…or something. Then he told me I could run the store, while he was gone! Would you like to buy a candle for your mother? Only $32 each. Or two for $60!"

"Wow. What savings," Buffy quipped back, knowing that it would be lost on the literal mind of the former immortal. "I think I'll just join the others, thanks."

Anya nodded and happily went back to tending to the empty shop. Xander, Willow, and Tara sat at the table, confused and morose.

"What's going on, Buffy?" Xander piped up first. "Miss Calendar is…she's a vampire, right? And now Giles is gone? What happened last night?"

Buffy swallowed. "Jenny was hunting Dracula, working on that restoration spell that they used on Angelus all those years ago. I don't know exactly how, or when…but Dracula turned her. She went to Giles' apartment last night, and he must've figured it out before inviting her in. He called me, and he told me to call you, too," she looked around the table at her three friends. She took a deep breath. "And then she came to my house. She was mad that I already knew what she was. Dawn and I stayed inside, and my mom was asleep for the whole thing. Angelus was outside, too, behind Jenny."

At the mention of the male vampire, Xander's expression darkened significantly, while Willow looked nervous. Tara, sitting beside her girlfriend, remained calm and unaffected by the mention of Buffy's ex-love. Xander looked like he was about to speak up, but he held his tongue for more of an explanation.

"She said that she was about to leave Sunnydale with Dracula. I guess he was making her go with him? And she'd wanted to…" _I probably shouldn't use her words._ "Well, she mentioned that she understood, now, why vampires often ended up attacking all of their human friends and family."

The whole group grimaced, completely aware of what Buffy wasn't saying.

"Anyway, she kind of got that it was too late to use the element of surprise, with Giles and I already knowing what she was. So she threatened to come back at a later time. To catch us off-guard."

Willow shivered and shared a look with Tara. Xander's jaw clenched, and he looked toward blissfully-unaware Anya.

"Then Angelus killed her," she finished.

Xander's mouth went agape, and Willow also looked surprised. Tara started to tear up.

"I'm sorry," the sole male in their group began, standing to his feet. "What, now? Angel killed Miss Calendar? So…he's gone now, too, right? You staked him, finally, didn't you Buffy?"

She narrowed her eyes at Xander's sarcastic tone. He knew the answers to his questions.

"Oh, no," the man continued. "Of _course_ you didn't. Your first love, and all that jazz." He shook his head, incredulous. "I swear, that undead clown could bring about an apocalypse and you'd stand by and do _nothing_."

"There's nothing to _do_ about it," Buffy said through her teeth. "Blame Dracula."

"I blame vampires in general, sweetheart, for the evil they do in this town and everywhere. I kind of thought that was supposed to be the Slayer's deal, too."

The two witches fidgeted uncomfortably at the tension between their two friends. But, when it came to Angel, they had never seen eye to eye.

"Does Giles know?" Willow spoke up to interrupt their verbal sparring.

Buffy's face said it all. Xander derisively snorted.

"I guess that explains Giles leaving town," he sneered. "I can't imagine he was too pleased to hear your soulless, torturing, kidnapping, ex-lover dusted the love of his life."

The Slayer threw her hands in the air. "She was a _vampire_ , already! Angelus is chipped! And let's not forget that we're still up against a goddess from a hell dimension, here!"

"Is Xander right, though?" Willow meekly asked. "Did Giles leave because of Jenny? Because, this is kind of the worst time to be down a Watcher."

Buffy smiled sadly at her redheaded friend. "He had some other things to say," she admitted. "But it had nothing to do with any of you guys."

Xander rolled his eyes and sat back down. Buffy pulled out the remaining chair and sat down, too.

"So, what do we do, now?" Tara asked pragmatically.

"I'm not sure," Buffy whispered. "I don't suppose Quentin was wrong about you not being able to figure out who Glorificus' human counterpart is, was he?"

Tara bit her lip and looked over at Willow, who shook her head.

"Sorry, Buffy," Willow answered. "I mean, the magics to figure out where the Key was is one thing. The monks used magic from _this_ world to hide it. Disguise it. If this Glorificus was banished from her dimension straight into ours, then those are powers we can't hope to understand or replicate."

"Speaking of the Key, how is Dawn?" Tara kindly inquired.

"Fine," Buffy waved a hand in front of her. "Still totally clueless. She did sneak out of the house last night. Crazy brat. Angelus stayed with her, though."

"Nice," muttered Xander. "If I'd known you were fine with him playing babysitter, I would've invited him into your home _for_ you."

"That's _enough_ , Xander," Willow warned, finally fed up with the petty remarks.

Buffy gave him a glare and folded her arms under her chest. Then she leaned back into the seat and stared down at the table. The four friends were quiet for the next few minutes, until Anya's voice rang over their heads.

"Are you going to sit there all day? Because, if you are, could you at least be pretending to examine the merchandise or look happy? I read in a business article that atmosphere and mood will greatly affect my profits, so… smile, please!"

Buffy left soon thereafter. Willow and Tara did, too, determined to look up anything useful to aid in the Slayer's two main objectives: protect Dawn and kill Glorificus. Xander remained, watching his girlfriend work and attempting to stop focusing on his hatred of Angel.

In truth, Willow went straight to Giles' home after the meeting. Tara agreed to meet with her later, sensing that this was a trip that her girlfriend needed to make alone.

Giles answered the knock at his door without surprise, and Willow credited the peephole for that.

"Willow, what a pleasant surprise," he said, obviously trying to be cordial. Failing miserably. He blocked the entrance to his home. "Did you need something?"

It was more than awkward, to not be invited in, but she held her ground.

"I needed…to tell you that…I'm sorry about Jenny," she finished softly. It wasn't what brought her to his door, but it was in her heart. She clenched her teeth and swallowed, trying not to cry. "Buffy told us what happened to her," she whispered, looking down.

"Ah," the mentor grimly smiled. "Yes, well. Thank you for your condolences. Are you all right?"

"I mean, I am, but…can I come in?"

He hesitated, clearly wanting to say no. But, after the pause, he swung the door open and allowed her entry. Willow walked through the threshold, noting the suitcase that stood at the ready.

"Goin' somewhere?" she asked.

"Yes, I thought I might go back to England for a short while. Clear my head."

"Leave us in the middle of the fight of our lives?"

He sighed and motioned for her to sit on the couch. She did, and he joined her.

"Do you remember when Buffy turned eighteen? The test? _Tento di Cruciamentum._ " He spoke slowly and quietly. As if even invoking the words was damnable. "It's a test for both the Slayer and the Watcher."

"Yeah," Willow nodded. "What about it? Buffy passed, you didn't. Wesley came and went. I remember all that."

"If we had both succeeded, it would have been the beginning of a separation, of sorts."

"A separation?" The young witch confusedly repeated.

"The Slayer is an adult, and, assuming the Watcher has done their job, he or she is then required to take a lesser role in the Slayer's life. You recall Kendra, and how her Watcher stayed behind, instead of joining her?"

Willow nodded.

"That's the more accepted practice. Teach, train, and, of course, watch. Don't interfere, except to educate. Don't participate, don't…don't become…too attached." He started to break, then, and Willow winced. "When I…failed, the Council determined that Buffy was woefully unprepared to be without a Watcher. In essence, she was granted more time to develop into the Slayer the Council expected her to be."

He took a breath, and Willow had nothing to say. She also could sense that he wasn't done.

"Fired from the Council, I was supposed to distance myself immediately." He smiled, and there was nothing grim about it. It radiated kindness and warmth. "You already know I couldn't abandon her. Or any of you."

"But you will now?" Willow interjected. The words popped from her lips. "You're not just leaving Buffy, you know. You're leaving me, too. To fight a goddess that even the Council is terrified of."

Characteristic of the Watcher she'd known since her sophomore year, he removed his glasses and ran a hand across his forehead. Uncomfortable. Convicted. But, also, resolute.

"There is always an apocalypse to face. I care about you and Buffy, and Xander, and Anya, and Tara… and Joyce," he added with a lump in his throat.

"And Dawn?"

"I…Willow, it's incredibly difficult…" he sighed, again. "If Dawn had never been placed in Buffy's care…if Buffy would consider the greater sacrifice…" The sad old man was gone, replaced with a grittier version. "If we weren't fighting on two fronts, Buffy and I would have been tracking Dracula. And Jenny…" He stopped there.

"Lots of 'ifs,'" Willow sadly countered.

"One more, then: if I had acted as the Watcher I'd been trained to be, I wouldn't be helping you in this fight, anyway. I would be back in England, counseling from afar, trusting that the Slayer was capable to do her job. And, if not, preparing for her replacement."

Willow stood, no longer sympathetic. "Well, if that's the Watcher you were supposed to be, no wonder so many Slayers died young," she spat out bitterly. "Lucky for us, you were the Watcher that Buffy needed…that we _all_ needed."

"Needed then, but not needed now," he calmly pointed out, still sitting. "Any research can be done by you and Tara. Spells, too. You're incredibly integral to the Slayer's effectiveness. Resources can be supplied by Anya and Xander, at this point. You know that, should you need it, everything in the Magic Box is yours. I have one unique contribution: my advice. Cultivated by experience, wisdom, and my own training. It can be imparted over the phone. And, if I'm somewhere that makes me happy, at least I won't be as devastated as I am when Buffy continually rejects the one card I have to play."

She went to speak, to ask Giles more about what he meant by rejected advice, but the man shushed her.

"No, no, it doesn't matter. Buffy has all she needs, and, if that changes, I will be on the first flight back. To visit. To help." He stood and walked away from Willow. He grabbed a pen and paper from his desk and wrote something down. "If this truly is the end of the world, I should like a happier view. One that doesn't remind me of what I've lost."

He walked back to Willow, the paper outstretched in his hand. On the formerly blank sheet was his address and phone for where he would be staying. She took the paper reluctantly, staring incredulously at a man she had long admired. Someone she had striven to be like.

There were no words. She wanted a hug. She wanted him to tell her how much he'd miss her. She wanted him to assure her that this was just a temporary insanity he was going through, and he'd be back to his normal self soon.

But she left without any of that. He was running, and he didn't care enough to think about the heartbreak he'd leave in his wake. She thought she heard him call out a farewell, but she was too distracted to acknowledge or return the sentiment.

There were more important things to focus on, Watcher or no Watcher.

Joyce had done well all morning, Dawn reported. The three Summers women ate a late lunch, then sat in the master bedroom playing card games and whittling away the hours of their Saturday afternoon.

When the time came for Buffy to patrol, she couldn't wait to get out the door. Dawn promised, as retribution for sneaking out the previous night, that she would wait on their mother hand-and-foot. Buffy kissed them both goodbye and headed toward the city's downtown.

She wasn't seeking a vampire, a demon, a werewolf, or anything else she had ever faced. She was looking for a god. She knew that much, at least. And it was highly unlikely that the goddess/human entity was residing in a cemetery.

Just because she wasn't looking for vampire didn't mean she wasn't going to find one. Angelus came alongside her almost as soon as she'd reached the end of her street.

"I was on my way to see you," he chuckled, falling in step with her.

"Shocker," Buffy sardonically muttered.

"I'm getting what I'm owed tonight, Buff," he grabbed her arm and she was pulled to a stop. She let him stand over her, unintimidated by him. He was all seriousness, without his usual flirty charm. He glowered down at her, expecting something.

She sighed. "What do you want, Angelus?"

"Are you upset with me for what happened last night? That was me actually _helping_ you and your fake little sis," he spat out, half-disgusted with his confession. "Not to mention your Watcher and sidekicks. She wasn't kidding around. She would've come back and slaughtered you all. I did it to _my_ family. Remember?!"

Buffy flinched. He actually smirked, pleased that, even with the chip trying to overwrite his basic instincts, he could still strike fear into the Slayer's heart.

"I remember!" she shot back. "And, no," she immediately changed to a calmer tone. "I'm not mad at you. For that. I wish it hadn't happened, but you protected me. Us. I know Jenny wouldn't have stayed away forever. _You_ obviously can't," she bravely pointed out. "And, even if she had left Sunnydale for good, I couldn't willingly let her go out into the world and kill even more people than she already had."

"You let _me_ go," he took a step closer to her, placing one of his hands on her lower back to pull her toward him.

"You're different," she whispered, clearly affected by his proximity.

"How?" he tilted his head in curiosity.

"I don't think either of us know the answer to that. Why haven't you killed me, with all the chances _you've_ had in the past?"

"You're fun to play with," he provocatively teased her, leaning down into her neck. Where he'd tasted her blood on more than one occasion. He salivated for it, now.

She pushed him back and kept walking to her destination. He ran up behind her and casually kept up with her pace.

"Did little sis tell you about our little field trip last night?"

"Yeah, I know she snuck out," Buffy said without much emotion. Her eyes were trained on her path, temporarily ignoring him. "I probably should be thanking you for bringing her home safely, but I still don't completely trust you. Chip or not."

"Smart girl," he condescendingly praised her. "Did she ever say how a hell god came to be at a hospital?"

That effectively stopped Buffy in her tracks. "What?!"

Angelus smiled as the Slayer rounded on him.

"What are you talking about?" her voice sounded absolutely frantic. "What happened?"

"She heard you and Mommy talking about her, so she snuck out to get some answers. I followed her to the hospital, curious and bored. Good thing I did." He grabbed her by her chin with one hand, which she promptly hit away. He growled in his chest, but then shrugged it off. "She ran out all panicked because she ran into Sunnydale's newest bad bitch."

"Why would Dawn go to the hospital?"

"She might've mentioned looking for someone in there who could tell her more about being 'The Key,'" he gave her a damning look, to let her know that he was more in the loop than she probably felt comfortable with. "Someone sick."

As a silent answer, Buffy paled. "Someone sick?" she barely whispered.

"Someone crazy," he amended, sounding amused.

Buffy didn't have anything to say, after that. Angelus could tell that the gears in the Slayer's mind were grinding. She kept walking, again, with renewed purpose. She knew her destination, now.


End file.
